NEW YORK, N.Y. – Playing their first of four games in the final week of the 2023 half of the season, the Manhattanville College men's basketball team rode a hot start to a 74-62 victory at Hunter on Monday night. The Valiants improve to 5-2 overall with the win having now won three straight.

Four different Valiants eclipsed double digits to earn the victory. Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) continued his hot start to the season with his first career double-double. The graduate center poured in 17 points while finishing with 10 rebounds. He added three blocks and an assist as he shot 8-of-9 from the floor in the strong performance.

Tony Hastings (Clarkstown, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Xavier Kistoo-Miles (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) each put up 14 points to join Giordano as starters in double-figures. Both did most of their damage from deep with four three-pointers apiece, with Kistoo-Miles shooting 80 percent from beyond the arc. The trio were joined by John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) who scored 11 in 17 minutes off the bench. Ranaghan went 6-for-6 at the free throw line as the freshman has been extremely effective at the charity stripe to open up his career with a 15-for-16 start.

Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) led the Valiants' board effort with 11 rebounds while dishing out four assists, second to only Hastings' six.

The Valiants shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including a .474 clip from deep to build out a 23-point first half lead. In fact, Manhattanville's .423 success rate from deep was their best three-point shooting effort of the season. The strong shooting, coupled with the Hawks started 8-for-31 from the field, allowed Manhattanville to take charge. After a back-and-forth opening five minutes saw Hunter leading 10-9, a Daniel Marinaccio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea) three pointer put the Valiants in front as the team would never look back. The deep ball was part of a 10-0 run that had Manhattanville up 17-10. Corey Jones Jr. ended the Hawks' scoring drought with a deep ball of his own before the Valiants went on another long run, this time outscoring Hunter 17-3 across a five minute span to go up 34-16. Manhattanville's lead would swell as high as 26 before Ryan Lau hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the half for Hunter to send the teams off the court with Manhattanville comfortably ahead, 46-23.

While Manhattanville cooled off from three and the Hawks' offense fared better in the second half, the lead the Valiants built up across the opening 20 minutes was insurmountable for Hunter to cover. The Hawks chipped the lead down to 11 across the first 4:15 out of the locker room as a Luka Jakic three made in 48-37, but a layup from Giordano began a 6-0 Valiant run that drained nearly five minutes off the clock to keep Manhattanville in charge. Still, the Hawks refused to go away and would get back within seven with 6:30 remaining in regulation. With Hunter suddenly making this a game again, Marinaccio delivered a clutch three pointer to reestablish the double-digit advantage for the Valiants at 61-51. From there, the Vals outscored the Hawks 13-11 across the final six minutes to hold off the comeback effort and head home with their third-consecutive win in tow.

Up Next
The Valiants begin conference play on Wednesday night as part of a Pride Night doubleheader. The men's team will get the nightcap of the twinbill, hosting Yeshiva for an 8 p.m. tipoff.

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