PURCHASE, N.Y. – A furious second half comeback by the Manhattanville College men's basketball team on Friday night capped off an exciting opening round of the 2022 A.J. Buchanan Classic, as the Valiants earned a 75-61 victory over William Paterson. The win improves Manhattanville's record to 4-1 on the year as the Valiants advance to the title game of the two-day tournament.

The Valiants trailed by as much as 16 in the first half, but the home team was able to outscore the Pioneers 50-25 in the second half to roar back and take the win. The comeback was led by a 22-point performance from Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's), matching his season high. The senior shot 8-of-12 from the floor and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Lotito was also heavily involved in setting up offensive chances with a team-high seven assists.

Joining Lotito in double figures were Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben). Dunn scored 15 on a 5-for-10 night, including a 4-for-8 mark from beyond the arc. Leech meanwhile did most of his work inside the paint with 13 points, although the senior did connect on his one deep ball attempt on the night. Leech would also lead the battle of the boards with eight rebounds, three of which came off the offensive glass, alongside three blocked shots.

Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) added seven rebounds, while Dunn finished the night with six. Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School), meanwhile, had six assists to mark a new career best.

It was all Pioneers in the first half as the visitors had seven different shooters record a basket in the first half with a .481 success rate from the field. After the Valiants went ahead 9-4 to open up the game, William Paterson went on a 12-0 run to swing momentum onto the other side of the floor. Neftali Valentin capped off the run with a three pointer with 12:10 remaining to put the Pioneers up seven. Daniel Marinaccio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea) helped cut the deficit down to five with a three of his own with 9:57 remaining in the half before the Pioneers responded with a deep ball of their own and a pair of free throws by Valentin to extend their lead to double digits, 24-14. The Pioneers would sink three more threes before the end of the half, but the Valiants were able to keep the game from escaping them as Marinaccio connected from deep with the final shot of the half to make the score 36-25 in favor of William Paterson after 20.

Giordano opened up the second half with the first basket, a layup a minute into the period, but back-to-back William Paterson threes by Michael Gilmore and Tyreek Montgomery had the Valiants on their heels down 42-27. However, Manhattanville would shoot 61 percent from the floor in the second half to spark a comeback, immediately clawing back with 15 straight points over a 3:03 period to make the Pioneer lead vanish. The Valiants went 5-for-5 on the run, including a pair of threes by Dunn. After trading the lead five times, a 6-0 Manhattanville run put the Valiants on top for good with just over 10 minutes remaining, 55-51. The Pioneers managed to pull back within one possession on three occasions, but with under five minutes to play, a 13-2 Valiant run closed out the game for the Valiants.

Up Next
With Trinity defeating Gwynedd Mercy in the other opening round contest 86-74, the Valiants will meet the Bantams in tomorrow's championship game. William Paterson and Gwynedd Mercy will play in the consolation game at 4:00 p.m. before Manhattanville and Trinity take to the court at 6:00 p.m.

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