PURCHASE, N.Y. – For a second-straight season, the No. 3 Manhattanville College men's basketball team will be taking on the No. 2 Yeshiva University Maccabees in the Skyline Conference Championship Semifinals. This time around Yeshiva will play host as the higher seed on Thursday evening at 8 p.m.
     
How We Got Here
Manhattanville hosted their quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday evening against sixth-seeded USMMA, picking up a 73-60 win against the Mariners. Xavier Kistoo-Miles (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) would lead the Valiants with a career-high 17 points as Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) would record a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) each scored in double digits to help secure a Valiants' win and a spot in the Skyline Semifinals. The team shot .463 from the field and .435 from behind the arc as they dominated on the home court of Kennedy Gymnasium.
In the other quarterfinal matchup, the second-seeded Maccabees would square off with the No. 7 Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins, who bested Yeshiva a week prior. It would be a tough back-and-forth effort as there were 15 lead changes between the two teams throughout the game. Zevi Samet would have a 30-point performance for the Maccabees as Dothan Dardichev would record his fifth double-double of the season. Or Sunddjyvsky and Roy Itcovichi would both score in double digits as Yeshiva would ultimately win 84-76 to return to the Skyline Semifinals.
 
Last Time Out
The Valiants and Maccabees split their pair of meetings this season, the home team would emerge victorious each time as they competed in the Gold Division of the Skyline Conference. First, on Dec. 6 in Kennedy Gymnasium, it would be a close 67-64 win for Manhattanville. Four players would find themselves in double digits as Lotito would record his first double-double of the season and find himself as a MBWA Honorable Mention. On Jan. 30, Yeshiva would claim a 72-59 victory over the Valiants. The Maccabees would hold them to their second lowest point total of the season and also one of their lowest field goal percentages at .393.
 
Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points Per Game: Saint-Louis (15.7), Giordano (14.2), Lotito (14.1)
• Rebounds Per Game: Lotito and Giordano (6.3), Scanlon and Saint-Louis (3.6)
• Assists Per Game: Lotito (5.1), Saint-Louis (2.3), Hastings (2.2)
• Steals Per Game: Lotito (2.5), Hastings (1.6), Saint-Louis (1.1)
• Field Goal Percentage: Giordano (.621), Saint-Louis (.480), Lotito (.435)

Yeshiva

• Points Per Game: Samet (23.2), Zakheim (19.1), Sundjvsky (16.1)
• Rebounds Per Game: Bardichev (6.5), Sundjvsky (5.8), Zakheim (5.4)
• Assists Per Game: Markovich (4.1), Bardichev (3.7), Zakheim (3.2)
• Steals Per Game: Zakheim and Sundjyvsky (2.3), Samet (1.7)
• Field Goal Percentage: Zakheim (.552), Samet (495), Itcovichi (.484

History

• All-Time Record vs Yeshiva: 14-15
• Streak: Manhattanville L1
• Series Record at Yeshiva: 5-9
• Last Five Meetings:
  • 1/30/24: Yeshiva 72, Manhattanville 59
  • 12/6/23: Manhattanville 67, Yeshiva 64
  • 2/23/23: Manhattanville 71, Yeshiva 57
  • 11/29/22: Manhattanville 81, Yeshiva 85
  • 2/27/22: Yeshiva 74, Manhattanville 40

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