PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team kicked off the new week with a win, as the Valiants defeated Purchase College 75-62 to extend the team's win streak to three games. The Crimson and White improve to 7-6 on the year with the win and are now 4-2 in Skyline Conference play following the latest iteration of the Battle of Anderson Hill Road.
 
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) was the team's offensive leader on the night with 17 points, now having reached double figures in eight straight games dating back to Nov. 28. The junior guard shot 6-of-11 from the field including a 66 percent clip from beyond the arc while dishing out five assists, collecting two rebounds, and earning three steals.
 
Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) had a solid night coming off the bench, scoring 11 in his 16 minutes of play. The senior guard matched his season best in the outing with a pair of deep balls and a perfect 3-for-3 mark from the free throw line. Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) added 10 points of his own off the bench to round out the top scorers for the Valiants.
 

RAPID REACTION: Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) of @ValiantsMBB talks about coming up clutch in Manhattanville's win over Purchase. #GoValiants pic.twitter.com/jcJmk1Ppf4

— Manhattanville College Valiants (@GoValiants) January 25, 2022

Chris Brown (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior) had a team-leading eight rebounds, with five of his boards coming off the offensive glass. Connor Yetman (Sydney, Australia/The Scots College (H.S.)) added six board of his own, four on the offensive side of the court.
 
After the visiting Panthers ran out to a quick 5-0 lead to open up the game, the Valiants were able to pull ahead for the first time on the night courtesy of a Brown layup at 16:40 to go up 8-7, kickstarting a 53 percent success rate by the team from the field in the half. The teams would battle to a 16-16 tie before the Valiants went on a 13-1 run to take a double-digit lead with 7:39 remaining in the first half. While the Panthers were able to pull back to within five, a 10-2 run by the Valiants to close out the half put the home team up 40-27.
 
Purchase would not get closer than eight points the rest of the way, as the Valiants mounted a response to every run the Panthers started to put together. Manhattanville immediately replied with six straight points to go back up by 14. The lead would hover around there most of the way home, with a 9-0 run later in the half gave the Valiants their largest lead of the night at 64-46 with 5:37 left to play. From there, Manhattanville was able to put the finishing touches on what ended as a 13 point victory.
 
Up Next
The Valiants are back in action on Wednesday night, hosting Farmingdale State at 7 p.m.

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