PURCHASE, N.Y. – The 2022 A.J. Buchanan Classic concluded on Saturday evening, with the Manhattanville College men's basketball team falling in the tournament's championship game against Trinity College, 70-43. The loss moves Manhattanville's record on the year to 4-2 overall.
The Valiants struggled offensively in the contest, as their 43 points and .309 shooting percentage were both lows of the young season.
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) served as the team's leading scorer with nine points while
Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) added eight.
Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) would added seven in his 16 points off the bench, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor.
The Bantams also dominated the glass, out rebounding Manhattanville 51-29. Lotito, Leech and
Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) paced the Valiants with three boards apiece, with Lotito collecting a pair of caroms off the offensive glass.
Lotito was joined by
Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and
Xavier Kistoo-Miles (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) as the team's assist leaders on the night with the trio each dishing out two helpers.
Benjamin Merritt (West Hartford, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) and
Donovan De La Rosa (Long Island, NY/Saint John Baptist High School) would both record a blocked shot.
Despite the cold shooting night, the Valiants were actually having a better success rate on their field goals in the first half than Trinity. The Bantams shot just 27 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to Manhattanville's .310 clip. The Batnams would piece together the first long run of the game, scoring eight unanswered points to go ahead 11-4 with 15:38 left in the half. Indicative of the shooting woes both teams suffered in the first, it would be almost four minutes before the next basket was scored on either side of the floor as Kistoo-Miles hit a shot from beyond the arc to end the cold spell. Manhattanville got back within one on four occasions to close out the half, but the Bantams were able to get a timely bucket to hold keep the Valiants at bay. Sean Macarchuk would put Trinity up 25-21 with a layup to close out the half.
The locker room adjustments worked for Trinity as the Bantams shot 57 percent over the final 20 minutes, including a 7-of-11 mark from deep, to run away with things. Back-to-back threes from C.J. Redd put Trinity up by double digits to open up the half. Manhattanville would be held without consecutive baskets for the entirety of the half, allowing the Bantams to build up their lead to as high as 29. A pair of
Thomas Mullin (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy High School) free throws concluded the scoring for the Valiants on the night as Trinity would take the 70-43 victory to win their second A.J. Buchanan Classic.
After scoring 45 points over the two-day tournament, Redd was selected as Tournament MVP for the victorious Bantams. He was joined by teammate Henry Vetter on the All-Tournament Team alongside Manhattanville's Lotito and Leech, William Paterson's Tyreek Montgomery and Gwynedd Mercy's Aziz Parker.
Up Next
The Valiants will get their first taste of conference action when they return to the court on Nov. 29. Manhattanville hosts reigning Skyline champs Yeshiva for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
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