PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team returned to action on Wednesday night inside Kennedy Gymnasium, treating the home faithful to a 72-57 win over Sarah Lawrence. The Valiants improve to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in Skyline play, moving back into a three-way tie atop the conference's North Division standings with Maritime and USMMA.

It was a leading effort out of Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) that helped guide the Valiants to victory as the senior was one of three scorers to reach double-figures while leading the rebounding effort on the night. Leech went 6-for-14 from the field while hitting 6-of-9 free throws to the tune of 20 points. It was his highest output since Dec. 5 against Hunter when he scored 23. Leech also collected nine of the team's 42 rebounds while blocking three shots.

Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) and Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) would also reach double-digits, combining for 30 total points. It was just another night at the office for Lotito who scored 17 on a 5-of-9 shooting performance and 6-for-8 on free throws. It was his 16^th straight game with 10 or more points and his 20^th of the season as his 387 points is the highest-offensive production by a Valiant since Sean Smith Jr's 524 in the 2018-19 campaign.

Dunn, meanwhile, would score 13 as all of his field goal attempts were from beyond the arc as he finished 4-for-7 while adding a free throw. Lotito and Dunn would also contribute four of the team's five takeaways on the night.

Lotito finished second to Leech in rebounds with seven caroms. Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) contributed five boards, his highest total since pulling down seven against Purchase on Jan. 11.

It was touch-and-go throughout the first half as the Valiants would ultimately hold a three point lead at the end of 20 minutes. The largest lead of the half would be just six in favor of Manhattanville as the teams combined to shoot 25 percent. What resulted was eight separate lead changes as both squads struggled to find their offensive rhythm. While Manhattanville was able to hit only eight field goals in the half, four came from deep as the team shot 44.4 percent on three pointers to open the night. It would be Leech striking first from deep on the team's first basket of the night before Dunn hit his first of the night three minutes later to put the Valiants up 6-4 through the opening five minutes. Sarah Lawrence would go back in front on an Amos Grey three ball before layups from Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Leech brought the advantage back over to the home squad with 11:33 left in the half.

It would take two minutes before the Gryphons put themselves back in front with a 5-0 run to go ahead 12-10 at the 9:20 mark. Manhattanville responded with their longest run of the frame, scoring eight unanswered points to establish their first six-point advantage of the night. The Gryphons would pull back within two as Justin DiFabio drilled a three pointer with 2:28 left. Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) responded with a three ball of his own on the ensuing possession before Leech hit a free throw to reestablish the six point advantage before DiFabio hit another three pointer for the final basket of the half to make it a three point game at the buzzer.

The Valiants would shoot 54 percent in the second half and went 6-for-13 from deep as they took control. The Gryphons pulled within two 1:40 into the half before the Valiants went on a 7-0 run to take their largest lead at that point, going ahead by nine with 16:03 to go. Despite the hot shooting, Manhattanville would be unable to put the Gryphons in the rearview mirror as Sarah Lawrence pulled back within four with 10:56 to go. Manhattanville responded with another seven unanswered points as part of a 10-2 run that gave the Valiants their first double-digit lead of the affair. From there, the lead never dipped below eight as Manhattanville found enough breathing room to effectively put the game away. With four minutes to go, Dunn hit back-to-back-to-back threes on consecutive trips down the floor to put the Valiants up by 18, 69-51. The Gryphons would be unable to respond to the knockout blow as Manhattanville claimed the 72-57 victory.

Up Next
The Valiants head across the bridge to Newburgh on Saturday to take on Mount Saint Mary at 1 p.m.

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