FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Led by five scorers in double-figures, the Manhattanville College men's basketball team was victorious on Saturday afternoon at Farmingdale State, defeating the Rams 88-83 in overtime. The victory keeps the Valiants atop the Skyline Conference's North Division with a 6-2 record in conference play.

Manhattanville moves to 13-4 overall on the season, the best record the Valiants have had this late since the 2006-07 campaign when the team made their most recent NCAA Tournament berth with a 23-6 record.

Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) led all scorers in the affair with 25, his second-highest offensive output of the season. The senior guard was on the court for 44 of the game's 45 minutes and shot 67 percent from the field while going 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Lotito would add six assists, three steals and six rebounds while raising his points per game average up to 17.8, tied for second in the Skyline.

Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) played a quality 19 minutes as he scored a career-high 16 points. The grad student was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc while posting an identical line at the charity stripe. Bielenda would add a pair of assists, three rebounds and a takeaway to his best overall performance of the season.

The Valiants received a dominant outing Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) who posted a career-high rebound total en route to his third double-double of the year. Leech collected 15 caroms, 13 off the defensive glass, while scoring 15 offensively. Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) would add 10 points of his own as a member of the starting five, while Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) provided 14 points after playing 32 total minutes off the bench. For Saint-Louis, it's four straight games in double-figures.

A three ball by Dunn on the Valiants' opening shot of the game began a 12-3 run by the visitors over the opening five minutes of the day. All four of Manhattanville's opening field goals came from beyond the arc as Bielenda drilled a pair while Leech added a deep ball of his own to join Dunn. The hot start put the Valiants ahead for the duration of the first half as Farmingdale was unable to fully close the gap. The Rams were able to make it a one score game on four occasions following Manhattanville's run but the Valiants were able to rattle off baskets of their own to keep the home team at bay. The Valiants shot 44 percent across the opening 20 minutes including a 6-for-9 mark from deep. Still, the Rams held close as a pair of Nick Hurowitz free throws would send the teams into the half with Manhattanville up 37-34.

Following the game plan that yielded success in the start of the first, the Valiants once again found the deep ball shot to begin the second half, opening on a 12-0 run through the opening 2:17. Bielenda, Dunn and Leech would all hit a shot from beyond the arc with Bielenda also adding a 3-for-3 trip to the line after being fouled on another three pointer attempt. The hot stretch extended the Valiant lead up to a game-high 15 points, 49-34. As things began to seem bleak for Farmingdale, the Rams would an impressive comeback effort to eventually send the game to overtime.

While Farmingdale hit eight field goals on a 25 percent mark from the field in the second half, the Ram comeback effort was fueled by trips to the line. Farmingdale took 27 free throw attempts in the second half, hitting 21 for a 77.8 success rate to methodically chip away into the Valiant lead. While Manhattanville was successful on their own trips to the charity stripe, going 11-for-14 in the second half, the volume of Farmingdale free throws allowed the Rams to erase a deficit that peaked at 16 with 14:52 to play. The Rams went on a 14-1 run after the Valiants took their largest lead of the contest to suddenly make it a one score game with under nine minutes to go. Despite the Rams coming back to life, the Valiants continued to hold the lead even as Farmingdale pulled within a single point on three separate occasions. With 20 seconds to play, Jevon Santos drew a foul on a three point attempt, hitting all three of his attempts to make the score 70-69. While Saint-Louis would deliver with a pair of clutch free throws of his own on Manhattanville's ensuing possession, Aaron Davis would connect from deep for Farmingdale with eight seconds left to tie the game at 72-72. Leech's buzzer beater was offline as the Rams came storming all the way back to force overtime.

With free throws allowing the Rams to come back, it was only fitting that the Valiants would capitalize on their own trips to the line in overtime to secure the win. Manhattanville would go 8-for-10 at the stripe in the overtime period to close out the day. However, it would be the Rams making the first trip to the line as Corey Powell went 1-for-2 to give Farmingdale their first lead of the entire game 32 seconds into overtime. The Valiants responded with how they began every other frame on the day as back-to-back threes from Saint-Louis followed by a Lotito jumper swung momentum back in Manhattanville's favor. Up by seven, Manhattanville successfully held off a second Ram comeback over the final 2:27. Hurowitz drained a three with 17 seconds left to pull the Rams within two, but a perfect 4-for-4 finish at the line from Lotito and Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) extended the Valiant lead back up to 88-82. Aaron Davis hit one last free throw for the Rams before time expired as the Valiants left Long Island with yet another hard-fought victory.

Up Next
The team returns home on Wednesday to host Mount Saint Vincent at 7 p.m.
 
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.  #WeAreValiant #GoValiants