NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team wrapped up regular season road play on Saturday afternoon as the Valiants defeated Mount Saint Mary, 77-64. The Valiants finish the regular season with an 8-3 road record and will enter the final week of the season continuing to hold a share of the Skyline's North Division lead with a 10-4 conference mark and a 17-6 overall record.

The Valiants had four in double figures combining for 56 points. The leading scorer would come off the bench as Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) accounted for 17. The sophomore's season-high came on a 4-of-6 shooting performance in which he was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Saint-Louis added five free throws in his 26 minutes of action as he reached double-digits for the first time in his last six games.

The other leading scorers from Manhattanville came from the starting lineup as Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben), Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) and Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) all had strong offensive performances. Leech put up 16 on a .600 effort from the field while adding nine rebounds, four assists, a pair of blocks and three steals. Lotito brought his point total for the year to an even 400 with his 13 on Saturday, making it 17 straight that he has scored 10 or more. The senior hit four field goals, two from deep, while handing out five assists along with his three takeaways and eight rebounds. Dunn would add 10, making it back-to-back games he has reached the double digit mark.

Leech and Lotito did the heavy lifting in the battle of the boards for the Valiants, while Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) collected five caroms of his own. The Knights would collect 39 rebounds to Manhattanville's 34 on the day.

The Valiants shot 52 percent in the first half en route to a six point advantage through the opening 20 minutes. However, the Knights would take eight more field goal attempts than the Valiants over the frame to allow them to keep pace despite Manhattanville's hot shooting start. It would be the Knights taking the opening lead following an opening layup by Elijah Barnett and a three pointer by Ryan Graham before Leech hit a pair of jumpers ahead of a Lotito layup to put the Valiants up 6-5. It would remain a one possession game until 13:54 remained in the half as Dunn and Saint-Louis drilled back-to-back threes to put Manhattanville up 16-10. The lead remained with the Valiants for the next four and a half minutes before Jayden Racca completed an and-1 with 9:25 to go, putting the Knights in front 21-19. Manhattanville responded with a 15-3 run to go up by ten entering the final two minutes, but Jayden Figueroa and Connor Cyran each notched a basket as the half came to a close to cut the Valiant advantage down to 34-28 at the horn.

Manhattanville shot just a tad worse in the second with a 48 percent success rate from the field, but the Valiants would go 19-for-24 at the free throw line to secure the win. The Knights scored the first two baskets of the half to make it a two point game before Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) drained a three to regain some breathing room. The deep ball was the start of a 12-0 run that lasted more than three minutes, putting the Valiants up 46-32. The run was the key moment of the game, as Manhattanville's lead never fell back below seven for the remainder of the contest. Seven different shooters hit a free throw in the second half, led by Saint-Louis' 5-of-7 effort. With strong efforts at the charity stripe with Leech and Giordano collecting four rebounds each in the half, the Valiants were able to complete the regular-season sweep of Mount Saint Mary with the 77-64 final.

Up Next
The Valiants begin the final week of the season on Tuesday as they host Merchant Marine in a high-stakes contest which will go a long way in determining playoff seeding. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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