OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Clamping down in the second half with a strong defensive performance, the Manhattanville College men's basketball team got the job done down at Old Westbury on Wednesday night, defeating the Panthers 72-61. The Valiants improve to 10-5 overall and 4-3 in Skyline Conference action, moving in to a second-place tie with Mount Saint Vincent in the conference's Gold Division.
Manhattanville's offensive output was carried by the trio of
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's),
Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and
Tony Hastings (Clarkstown, N.Y./Clarkstown South) combining for 46 total points. Lotito and Saint-Louis were extremely efficient at the free throw line, both finishing 8-for-12 from the charity stripe. Lotito finished with 18 points, his highest of his last four games, while also leading the Valiants with eight rebounds. The Manhattanville grad student also had four assists to bring his season total to 70, continuing to lead the conference with 5.8 helpers per game.
Saint-Louis scored 16 coming off his career-high 27 points on Saturday against USMMA. The junior guard has reached double-figures in four straight games and in six of his seven contests this season. Hastings, meanwhile, served as the Valiants' top deep ball threat of the night as all four of his field goals came from beyond the arc for his 12 points.
Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and
John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) notched three assists apiece in the win. Giordano would also finish second on the team in rebounds with four boards for the Valiants.
Despite carrying an 0-15 record entering the contest, Old Westbury went toe-to-toe with the Valiants in the first half. The Panthers shot 50 percent across the first 20 minutes, hitting their first two shots of the night to take an early 4-0 lead. The Valiants trailed for the first 3:50 of play until
Jack Scanlon's (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) three-pointer gave Manhattanville its first lead of the night at 8-7. Neither team would gain much in the way of separation over the course of the half, with the Valiants staking claim to the largest advantage by going up by eight following
Daniel Marinaccio's (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea) back-to-back threes with 9:52 remaining. The Panthers responded with seven straight points to cut the Manhattanville lead back down to one. The score would be tied three times before the buzzer sounded with Old Westbury knotting things up at 33-33 following Amadi Lee-Kane's layup with 47 seconds left. The Valiants delivered the follow blow of the half as Andrew Melilo drained a three on the team's final trip down the court to put Manhattanville ahead 36-33.
The Valiants would gain control in the second half thanks to a strong defensive effort that held the Panthers to a 29 percent clip to close out the night. Old Westbury also finished 0-for-8 from deep to make keeping pace with Manhattanville difficult. Lee-Kane converted the first basket of the half out of the locker room for Old Westbury, but a 10-0 Valiant run capped by a Hastings three put the Valiants up by double-figures for the first time all night, leading 46-35 with 14:15 left in regulation. Manhattanville would lead comfortably for a majority of the way home, although the Panthers did threaten by cutting the deficit down to seven entering the final minute. The Valiants would hold firm, silencing the Panthers from the field for the closing seconds while hitting six free throws to secure the 72-61 win.
Up Next
The Valiants play host to Saint Joseph's Brooklyn on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.
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