PURCHASE, N.Y. – Winter postseason has arrived, with all four of the Manhattanville varsity athletic winter teams advancing to their conference tournaments. Opening up a week full of postseason action is the Manhattanville College men's basketball team who look make a third-straight run to the Skyline Conference Championship Finals as they welcome Merchant Marine to Kennedy Gymnasium on Tuesday night for the tournament's quarterfinal round. How We Got Here
Completing the first season under the Skyline's new division realignment, the Manhattanville Valiants finished second in the Gold Division with a 10-6 conference record after going 17-8 overall. With Farmingdale and Yeshiva claiming the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively as division champs, the Valiants earned the No. 3 seed after finishing above Maritime in conference play. The Valiants capped off the regular season on Saturday with a 76-62 win at Sarah Lawrence to secure the third-overall seed, bringing home playoff action to Kennedy for a fourth-straight season.

Opposing Manhattanville will be USMMA, who earned the No. 6 seed after finishing third in the Black Division. The Mariners went 10-14 overall and finished 7-9 in the Skyline, ending the year with a 70-53 win over Saint Joseph's Brooklyn to officially secure the postseason berth. Merchant Marine has been a tale of two teams at home and on the road, as the Mariners are 7-3 at Kings Point this year while going 1-11 away from their campus. In order to advance to the weekend's semifinals, USMMA will need to do something they haven't since Nov. 21—win in a hostile environment.

In the last four meetings between Manhattanville and USMMA, the home team has emerged victorious in each, with the Valiants taking the last two matchups over the Mariners.

Last Time Out
The teams met in Kennedy Gymnasium on Jan. 13, a 68-60 win for the Valiants. Manhattanville jumped out to a ten-point first half lead and never looked back as the team shot over 50 percent on the day. Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) thrived against the Mariner defense as the duo combined for 48 points in the win. Merchant Marine was led by a 19-point effort out of Isaac Vencel, while Drew Zalescik and Bryce Bristow also reached double-figures.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points Per Game: Saint-Louis (15.8), Giordano (14.3), Lotito (14.2)
• Rebounds Per Game: Lotito (6.4), Giordano (5.9), Scanlon (3.7)
• Assists Per Game: Lotito (5.2), Saint-Louis (2.3), Hastings (2.2)
• Steals Per Game: Lotito (2.5), Hastings (1.6), Saint-Louis (1.1)
• Field Goal Percentage: Giordano (.623), Saint-Louis (.484), Lotito (.435)

USMMA

• Points Per Game: Zalescik (17.5), Bristow (12.3), Spivey (11.5)
• Rebounds Per Game: Zalescik (9.0), Bristow (5.8), Vencel (4.7)
• Assists Per Game: Vencel (3.8), Hutchins (2.0), Spivey (1.9)
• Steals Per Game: Bristow (1.6), Vencel (1.2), Hutchins/Spivey/Zalescik (1.1)
• Field Goal Percentage: Hatch (.473), Zalescik (.459), Vencel (.456)

History

• All-Time Record vs USMMA: 21-32
• Streak: Manhattanville W2
• Series Record at Manhattanville: 14-13
• Last Five Meetings:
  • 1/13/24: USMMA 60, Manhattanville 68
  • 2/14/23: USMMA 44, Manhattanville 58
  • 1/7/23: Manhattanville 57, USMMA 66
  • 2/19/22: Manhattanville 56, USMMA 58
  • 1/12/22: USMMA 66, Manhattanville 64

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