THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team climbed back up to .500 on the season and earned their first conference win of the year on Saturday afternoon, defeating Maritime College 68-51. The Valiants improve to 4-4 with the win and are now 1-1 in Skyline Conference play.

For a third straight game, Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) led the way for the Valiant offense. The junior guard scored 15 points, reaching double figures for the third consecutive contest. Lotito continues to lead the Valiants this season with an average of 11.9 points per contest. Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) joined Lotito in double digits, scoring a career-high 12.

Lotito and Leech were also the leading rebounders on the day, pulling in eight and six boards, respectively. Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) also had six rebounds, his new best on the season.

Manhattanville had their most successful game from deep on the year, shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc. Chris Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) set the tone with a 3-for-4 outing from downtown, accounting for all nine of his points on the day.

The Valiants staked claim to a 14-point halftime lead that allowed them to bring home the win. It did take a little while for the offense to begin firing on all cylinders, however, as Manhattanville found themselves trailing 10-8 with 12:36 left in the half. That was when the deep balls began to fall, as the Crimson and White went on an 11-3 run fueled by a trio of three pointers. With 3:04 remaining, a Mike Granda (Monroe Township, N.J./St. Joseph) jumper put Manhattanville ahead 30-20, their first double-digit lead of the afternoon. Granda's shot began an 10-4 run to close out the half capped off by a Lotito three pointer that sent the Vals to the locker room leading 38-24.

Neither team started strong to begin the second, as it took more than two and a half minutes for the first basket to fall. Lotito's jumper was the start of a 9-0 Manhattanville run that extended more than three minutes in length as points came at a premium to get things started in the half. As was the story in the first, things began to click a bit more for both offenses as time went on, but the hole was too big for Maritime to climb out of. The Valiants would lead by as much as 27, and while the Privateers ended the game on a 9-2 run, time was not on their side to cut the gap down any further than the final 17 point margin.

Up Next
The Valiants are back on the road Thursday night at Wesleyan for a 7 p.m. matchup.

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