PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's basketball team tipped off a new season on Friday day, dropping an 88-57 contest against visiting City College of New York. The loss has the Valiants off to an 0-1 start on the new campaign, while the Beavers open 1-0.

Andrew Melillo (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) finished as the leading Valiant in the opening to his sophomore season. The guard was the only Manhattanville player to reach double figures offensively, pouring in 12 on a 5-for-11 night from the floor with a pair of free throws. Emmanuel Udeagha (Yonkers, N.Y./Aduvie International School) provided eight as a member of the starting lineup alongside Melillo, while Carlos Urena (Corona, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) and Don Mays Jr. (Hempstead, N.Y./St. Dominic) bother scored six off the bench in their Valiant debuts.

Melillo, Udeagha, Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) and Jack Quinn (Greenwich, Conn./The Winchendon School) all finished the night with four rebounds, leading Manhattanville's effort off the glass. The Valiants were outrebounded 42-33 throughout the contest.

The Beavers' duo of Ricardo Dixon and Edward Beqiri caused fits for Manhattanville all night, with the tandem putting up 41 points combined. Dixon opened the year with a 21 point, 12 rebound double-double, while Beqiri poured in 20 with five boards, three assists and a block. CCNY also dominated from deep, hitting at a 40 percent clip from beyond the arc compared to Manhattanville's 19 percent success rate.

The first points of the season belonged to Scanlon, who drained a pair of free throws after drawing a foul on the opening possession. Buckets from Melillo and Udeagha gave the Valiants an early two-possession lead before Chris Stone eventually put the Beavers ahead with a three at 16:10, 7-6.

The teams traded the lead three more times, ultimately leading to a 15-15 stalemate with under ten in the opening half. Dixon broke the tie with a dunk, giving CCNY a lead that held the rest of the night. Manhattanville kept within a single possession for most of the ensuing five minutes, but the Beavers broke things open with a 17-5 run to close out the final 4:48 of the half to take a 40-26 advantage into the break.

CCNY showed no signs of slowing down, shooting 60 percent from the floor over the second half. The Beavers scored 20 of the first 27 points after returning to the floor, leading 60-33 with 13:55 left in the game. The visitors went on to lead by as many as 41, up 80-39 with eight minutes on the clock.

Manhattanville closed out the game by outscoring the Beavers 18-8. Deep balls from Neven Noor (Pomona, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) and Zach Knowles (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey Academy) helped chip into the deficit as the Valiant hit their first three-pointers since 5:44 remaining in the first half, but CCNY left Kennedy Gym on Friday with a comfortable 31-point victory.

Up Next
The Valiants look to shake this one off when they return to action on Tuesday, hosting WestConn at 5 p.m.

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