PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Manhattanville men's basketball team got back to their winning ways at home against USMMA, with a 68-60 victory on Saturday afternoon to earn their second win of the week. 

Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) paved the way for the Valiants, as Saint-Louis turned in a career-high 27 points on 9-of-16 from the field with an impressive 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Giordano followed behind with 21 points of his own, 10-of-13 from the floor, adding on a game-high four assists and a team-high six boards. 

Graduate guard Tony Hastings (Clarkstown, N.Y./Clarkstown South) would follow suit with ten points of his own, as the Clarkstown native now sits at 9.9 just under averaging ten points per game, and looks to become the Valiants fourth scorer to average ten PPG this season. 

The Valiants were able to jump out to an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes of the first half, thanks to a Hastings layup. The lead remained with the Valiants until the 11:35 mark, when the Mariners took their first lead of the contest as Bryce Bristow took control of the USMMA offense, making way for the 15-14 lead. The Mariners would try to build on their lead, but the player of the contest, Saint-Louis, helped snatch the lead back from a three-pointer the old-fashioned way. Giordano, Hastings, and Saint-Louis would propel the Valiants to mount a thirteen-point swing over the next four minutes as the score settled at 32-19, for Manhattanville's largest lead of the first half. Manhattanville would carry the double-digit lead into the break, as they held a ten-point margin over the Mariners, 34-24. The Valiants would shoot 51.7 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes of action, holding their counterparts to 37.5 percent from the floor. 

USMMA's offense would fare better in the second half, as the Mariners would shoot at a 54.2 percent clip in the final stanza. However, the Valiants would not allow the lead to slip away despite the Mariners best efforts. With 16:19 elapsed in the second half, USMMA would cut the Valiant lead to just two points following their 12-2 run to open play to put the score at 38-36. The Valiants would put their foot on the gas pedal, starting a run of their own to the tune of a 17-8 momentum swing to put the contest at 55-44 following a Giordano hoop and the harm for the three-point play. Manhattanville would continue to hit shots and keep the point buffer, as their lead never dipped below six points, leading to the final buzzer sounding a 68-60 Valiants victory. 

Up Next 

The Valiants hit the road on Tuesday, Jan. 16 to take on winless Old Westbury at Clark Athletic Center.

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