BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Held to a season-low 57 points, the Manhattanville University men's basketball team dropped a 65-57 decision to Medgar Evers on Sunday afternoon. The loss in the non-conference finale moves the Valiants to 4-5 overall as the Cougars climb to 2-7.
Manhattanville went 18-for-52 from the floor, with both the number of field goals and the .346 shooting percentage marking their lowest offensive outputs of the year.
Andrew Melillo (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) was the lone Valiants to reach double-figures in the loss, putting up 10 on a 4-for-10 shooting day with a pair of rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) put up nine points, his best offensive production since December 2022, shooting 75 percent on field goal attempts with three free throws. Scanlon's eight rebounds and three steals also paced the Valiants, with the senior adding three assists to his totals.
John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River),
Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and
Benjamin Merritt (West Hartford, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) each finished with eight points to round out Manhattanville's leading scorers. Saint-Louis added a team-best four assists, while Merritt hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc, a total matched by
Daniel Marinaccio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea).
The Cougars snapped four-game losing streak against Manhattanville, pickup their first win over the Valiants since 1995.
Medgar Evers shot .435 in the first half, but the Valiants withstood the shooting discrepancy to take a lead into halftime. Melillo and Marinaccio led Manhattanville's scoring in the first half with six points apiece. It was the Cougars that seized momentum early, opening on a 7-0 run over the opening four and a half minutes as the Valiants missed each of their first five shot attempts. Scanlon put the visitors on the board with a steal and layup before Marinaccio hit back-to-back threes to give the Vaaliants their first lead of the afternoon at 8-7. Eight more lead changes followed over the ensuing 13 minutes with neither side having a lead larger than five. It was the Valiants benefitting from the biggest advantage as Scanlon completed a three-point play with 45 seconds left to put Manhattanville ahead 30-25, but Medgar Evers returned the favor with a layup and free throw of their own from Andre Evans Jr. for make it a two point game at the half.
The Valiants came out in the second half strong, scoring three straight baskets from Scanlon, Melillo and Saint-Louis to extend their lead up to eight. While the Cougars continued to bite at their heels, the Valiants held steady as they climbed to a 13-point lead off a Merritt three-pointer to go up 48-35 with 11:30 left to play. Medgar Evers sprung to life facing the largest deficit of the day, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to bring things even at 49-49 at the seven minute mark.
Carlos Urena (Corona, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) was able to put the Valiants back in front with a layup and-one, but the Cougars were not content with just pulling even. Nicholas Bocharov hit a three-pointer to tie the score once again with 6:22 left to play and set forth a 16-5 run over the remainder of regulation to snag the victory.
Up Next
The Valiants look to shake this one off when they open up conference play on Saturday, hosting Mount Saint Vincent at 4 p.m.
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