PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team continued their late-season surge on Wednesday night, picking up a 66-57 win over Maritime College. The victory completes the regular-season sweep of the Privateers, with the Valiants improving to 11-7 overall and 8-3 in Skyline Conference play in the process.
It was a well-rounded night for the offense, with 10 of the 11 Valiants to take to the court ending the contest with a basket.
Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) was the night's scoring leader, tying his career high with 12 points on a 6-of-10 effort from the field. The junior forward also had seven rebounds in the contest, finishing second on the team.
Chris Brown (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior) scored nine while adding three blocks, while
Mike Granda (Monroe Township, N.J./St. Joseph),
Connor Yetman (Sydney, Australia/The Scots College (H.S.)), and
Chris Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) added eight apiece.
While
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) was held to a season-low four points, he made his presence known off the glass. The Staten Island product led the way eight rebounds, his most since an eight board effort on Jan. 15 against St. Joseph's (LI). Leech, Yetman, and
Petey Galgano (New Rochelle, N.Y./Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.)) each had three offensive rebounds as the Valiants held a 48-38 advantage on the caroms on the night.
As has been the trend of late, the Valiants were able to fight back from a deficit to pick up the win. The Privateers were in control for a majority of the first half, opening the game with a statement three by Nick Ovanessian. Maritime would slowly build a lead up to eight with 13:55 to go in the opening period, leading 13-5 after a Ryan Donovan layup. The Privateers would continue to hold a multi-basket lead, sinking shots in response to any sort of push Manhattanville made. The tide finally began to turn when the Valiants went on a 15-2 run over the final four minutes of the half to take the team's first lead of the night, heading into the locker room ahead 34-27.
The Valiants would never look back following the momentum swing, building their lead up to as high as 13. The Valiants went on a 10-4 run out of the break to go ahead 44-31 with 14:40 left. Maritime was able to cut the lead back to within single digits four times in the remainder of the contest, but the Crimson and White were able to hold off a Privateer comeback effort. With the lead down to seven with five minute remaining, the Valiants sank three quick baskets to go back up by 13, too much for Maritime to fight back from as time dwindled out.
Up Next
The Valiants play a rare two-day home-and-home this weekend against Sarah Lawrence, starting with Saturday's contest at the Gryphons at 1 p.m.
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