PURCHASE, N.Y. – Beginning the final stretch of the fall semester, the Manhattanville College men's basketball team began a three-game week with a 102-81 victory over Hunter College on Monday night. The Valiants improve to 6-3 overall with the non-conference win.
The 102 points is the highest offensive output by the Valiants since 2018 when the team scored 103 against Saint Joseph's-Brooklyn. It was also the first time Manhattanville eclipsed the century mark since last season's 101-85 win against CCNY.
With Hunter employing a full court press all game long, it allowed for a plethora of offensive chances on both sides of the court. The Valiants took a season-high 74 field goal attempts, connecting on 40 of their shots from the floor. The fast pace of the game allowed six different scorers to reach double figures for Manhattanville. The offensive effort was led by 23 points from
Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben), marking his second time eclipsing 20 points in his last three games. The senior was 9-of-16 from the field and connected on five of his eight free throws.
Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) set a new career-best with a 15 point outing off the bench, shooting 6-of-9 from the field. The duo of
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) and
Xavier Kistoo-Miles (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) finished with 13 points each, while
Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and
Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) both put up 12. Dunn connected on every shot he took, going 3-for-3 from the field including a pair of shots from behind the arc and all four of his free throw attempts.
The Valiants had 46 rebounds on the night, led by nine by Kistoo-Miles. Dunn pulled down seven boards, while Leech and Lotito contributed six rebounds. In all, 11 different Valiants collected a rebound in the win.
The defensive game plan by the Hawks forced the Valiants to make quick passes to move the ball down the court, resulting in a season-high 29 assists. Scanlon had a team-best six helpers to go along with his career-high point total. As was the case under the hoop, the assist total was a full team effort, with ten different players earning at least one on the night.
Manhattanville scored 51 points in each half, content to do their damage inside the arc while Hunter was chucking up 52 three pointer attempts on the night. Facing the unconventional defensive strategy, it took Manhattanville some time to find their rhythm against the pressing Hunter players. The teams traded leads through the opening five minutes, with the Hawks claiming an 18-15 advantage. Manhattanville was finally able to break through with their first sustained run of the night, going on a 15-1 run over a stretch of 3:04 to jump ahead 30-19. While Manhattanville was able to keep their lead hovering around nine points for much of the remainder of the half, Hunter used a string of seven unanswered points to make it a one possession game with 2:56 left in the period, 38-35. The Valiants responded with 11 straight points to reestablish the double-digit advantage, ultimately taking a 51-40 lead into halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half, with the Hawks firing 25 shots from beyond the arc while the Valiants continued to drive to the basket and utilize long passes to break out into the offensive half of the court. Manhattanville used a 13-4 run in the first five minutes to stretch their lead up to 20. Despite the lofty lead, the Hawks' ability to hit the deep ball kept them in the contest, cutting the Valiant advantage down to nine with 8:18 remaining. The Valiants would prevent the Hawks from getting any closer from that point on, going on a 13-3 run to pull away 94-76 with 3:10 to play. The lead never dipped back below 15, with Manhattanville ending the game with an 8-5 advantage over the remainder of play to earn the 102-81 win.
Up Next
The Valiants stay home for a women's/men's basketball doubleheader in Kennedy on Wednesday. The men will play Maritime in the backend of the twinbill, with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m.
