PURCHASE, N.Y. – A career-high 28 points from Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and the first triple-double of Tommy Lotito's (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) collegiate tenure led the Manhattanville College men's basketball team to a home victory over Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday, besting the Dolphins 76-69. The Valiants improve to 14-6 overall and 8-4 in the Skyline Conference with the victory.

Giordano was a force to be reckoned with under the basket on Saturday as the Valiants' big guy went 14-for-17 from the field on short range baskets. The graduate center matches the single-game high by a Manhattanville player this season, tying Lotito's mark against York back on Nov. 23. Giordano corralled seven rebounds and blocked four shots to supplement his offensive eruption.

Speaking of Lotito, the highly-decorated graduate guard accomplished one of the few items not on his collegiate resume, posting a triple-double. The Staten Island product scored 14 points while leading Manhattanville with 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Saturday was the first time in Lotito's career that he reached double-digit assists as he now leads the conference with 5.9 assists per game.

While Giordano and Lotito shined, two more Valiants joined the party in double-figures offensively. Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) scored 13 points with five assists and three rebounds while Tony Hastings (Clarkstown, N.Y./Clarkstown South) scored 12 on four three-pointers. Hastings also had eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

The first half ran through Giordano for Manhattanville and DJ Tucker for Dolphins as the pair accounted for a majority of their respective team's offenses. Giordano finished with 14 in the half, while Tucker put up 15 for Mount Saint Vincent. Appropriately enough, the duo scored each of their team's first baskets with layups on both ends of the floor. Tucker put the Dolphins back up with a jumper in the following possession, but a Hastings three-pointer began a 7-0 Manhattanville run to give the Valiants the first multi-possession lead of the game. Mount Saint Vincent would go back in front following three straight baskets before the Valiants knotted things up at 10-10 on a Daniel Marinaccio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea) free throw with 12:19 remaining.

The teams remained evenly matched as the largest lead across the first 16 minutes was the Valiants' five point advantage. Nursing a 24-23 lead, the Valiants found their rhythm with a 7-0 run to go up by eight with 3:32 left in the half. Mount Saint Vincent once again fought their way back, narrowing the gap to two with a minute to go. Giordano capped off his half with a layup to put Manhattanville up by four, but Kevin Agyemang beat the buzzer with a three-point heave to cut the Valiant lead to 35-34 at the half.

The Valiants were able to better control Tucker in the second half, limiting him to just six points and the Dolphins as a whole to a .378 shooting percentage. Manhattanville shot .667 across the final 20 minutes to firmly take over and snag the win in front of the home crowd. Tucker hit a jumper to open up the half, but a Giordano layup began a 6-0 individual run that put the Valiants back ahead, never trailing for the remainder of play. Mount Saint Vincent was able to push things even at 50-50 on another Agyemang three-pointer at the 14:04 mark, but Manhattanville responded with an 8-0 run to take their largest lead up to that point with 10:37 left to play. The lead climbed as high as ten with 4:15 left as the Valiants were able to hold off the Dolphins the rest of the way home.

Up Next
The Valiants make the short trip up Anderson Hill Road on Tuesday night to take on Purchase College at 8 p.m.

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