NEWARK, N.J. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team was defeated by Penn State Behrend in the quarterfinals of the ECAC DIII Men's Basketball Championship tournament on Friday evening. The 58-48 loss will officially bring an end to the Valiants' 2021-22 campaign with a record of 17-10.

Chris Brown (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior) led the Valiants on both sides of the court, scoring 12 points while pulling down six rebounds. The senior was especially effective from the free throw line, sinking six of his nine attempts. Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) was the only other Manhattanville shooter to reach double figures, accounting for 11 points on a 5-of-8 shooting night. Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's), playing a team-leading 30 minutes, scored eight.

Lotito and Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) each ending the night with five rebounds. Lotito accounted for Manhattanville's lone offensive board in the contest, as Penn State Behrend was able to effectively shut down any attempts at second-chance looks by the Valiants.

As the low final score would indicate, offense came at a premium in the matchup. Manhattanville was held to a .347 shooting effort from the floor, but more telling was the Valiants' rate from deep. Manhattanville was just 1-for-13 from beyond the arc for a .077 shooting percentage, their lowest mark of the year.

It took more than two minutes for either team to connect on a basket, but the Lions did manage to strike first to take a 2-0 lead. Dunn would respond by sinking three free throws after being fouled on his attempt from deep to give the Valiants their first lead of the night. Manhattanville then went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 11-7 with 11:50 to go in the half. The Valiants nursed the lead until the 4:39 mark when Kenny Fukon nailed a pair of free throws to kickstart a solo 8-0 run, putting PSUB up 27-19 with 3:14 remaining. Lotito hit a jumper at the buzzer to pull back to within six, but the Fukon run was a pivotal momentum swing.

Manhattanville attempted to make up for lost ground in the second half, pulling to within three on four separate occasions. After Fukon hit a jumper to give the Lions a 41-35 advantage, Giordano completed an old-fashioned three point play before Chris Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) sank a pair of free throws to close the gap to one. The Valiants would be unable to get over the hump, however, as the Lions went on a 15-1 run to pull away 56-41 with 3:36 to play. Manhattanville was unable to mount a response with time working against them as the Lions advanced to the ECAC semifinals tomorrow.

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