JAMAICA, N.Y. - Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) combined for 48 of the Valiants 82 points, with Lotito sinking the game-winning free throws as the clock showed five-tenths of a second to lead Manhattanville College past York, 82-80, on Wednesday night in York College Gymnasium. Manhattanville improves to 2-1 on the young season.
The game winning points for the graduate student came off an inbound in which he drove the full length of the court, and was fouled on his layup attempt, hitting the subsequent free throws to put the Valiants ahead by one point.
Despite the Cardinals having five scorers finish in double figures, the duo of Giordano and Lotito could not be stopped, finishing with 20 and 28 points, respectively. Lotito dished out a team-high ten assists, while also pacing the team in the rebound department with seven, sitting three away from a triple-double.
Although it was a close contest all night, York held the lead for 75% of the contest, jumping out to a 13-8 lead in the opening five minutes of the night. Rohan Singh hit a three-pointer to pin the contest at the aforementioned score, with the Valiants finding themselves with their first lead of the game after a Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) driving layup. From that point on, the Cardinals would embark on a 23-16 run, as Olawale Kila collected ten of those 23 points, pinning the score at 36-29 in York's favor. The Valiants would then commence a 15-4 run to get themselves back in the contest, as Lotito hit a pull up jumper to give the Valiants the 42-40 lead as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Out of the break, the Cardinals would find themselves with the largest lead of the contest, a nine-point lead 12:36 into the half after Singh hit another three-pointer. Manhattanville would mount a similar run, 25-14, to take the lead back with 1:47 left to play, after a Lotito and-one basket, with the score showing 78-76 for the Valiants. After trading baskets, York's Aidony Nivar drilled a shot from deep after the ball deflected off a Valiant defender, leading to Nivar's contested three, and the Cardinals taking the lead back. Giordano got his twentieth point a minute later, converting the go-ahead layup in the paint, having the scoreboard show an 80-79 Manhattanville advantage. Tafari Jerome got to the charity stripe with a chance to put the Cardinals ahead, as he hit the first, missing the second to have the battle deadlocked at 80 all. Lotito then did his magic, getting to the line with five-tenths of a second left, hitting both free-throws to win the game for the Valiants, 82-80.
Tony Hastings (Clarkstown, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Benjamin Merritt (West Hartford, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) each totaled nine points, with the later of the two pacing the Valiants in three-point shooting at a 3-for-5 mark.
Up Next
The Manhattanville College men's basketball team returns to Kennedy Gymnasium to take on Morrisville State, on Tuesday Nov. 21 in a showdown at 7 p.m.
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants
