THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – For a third-straight season, the Manhattanville College men's basketball team will be competing in the ECAC Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Valiants sport the No. 6 seed for the bracket and draw a first-round matchup against third-seeded Alvernia in a neutral court matchup at SUNY Maritime on Saturday at 2 p.m., with the winner advancing to the tournament semifinals to take on the hosting Privateers.
    How We Got Here
The Valiants' Skyline Championship run came to a close in the tournament semifinals as third-seeded Manhattanville was bested by second-seeded Yeshiva, 80-68. The loss dropped the Valiants to 18-9 overall in the 2023-24 campaign following a third-straight appearance in the Skyline semis.

Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) played all 40 minutes in the loss to the Maccabees, scoring 20 points with nine rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) also reached double-figures in the Valiants' last game on Feb. 22, combining for 27 total points with six rebounds apiece.

It was that trio that lead the Valiants all season long, with each averaging more than 14 points per game. Saint-Louis enters the tourney with 15.7 points per game, the most on Manhattanville this season. Despite missing eight games due to injury in November and December, the junior more than doubled his average scoring from a season ago. Lotito and Giordano head into the weekend with averages of 14.4 and 14.1 points per game, respectively.

Opposing them in Saturday's first round will be Alvernia, with the Golden Wolves carrying a 16-10 overall record on the season. Alvernia earned the No. 4 seed in the MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Championship, drawing a semifinals meeting with top-seeded Widener. The Golden Wovles fell to the Pride 80-70 in the matchup on Feb. 21. Alvernia's starters saw the majority of the action, with the five accounting for all but eight of the team's points. Malik Slay and Jakob Kelly both scored 16 points, while Kyle Gordon had a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double in the loss.

The Golden Wolves' leading scorer on the year was senior guard Robert Mullan, who put up 14.4 points per game on the season. Mullan was absent from the lineup in Alvernia's postseason loss to Widener, his only missed game this season. Behind him, Nigel Cooke and Kelly have also been extremely effective in getting points, averaging 14.3 and 13.9 points per.

Last Time Out
It's been 15 years since the Valiants and Golden Wolves took to the court together. The teams have not met since the 2008-09 campaign when both were in the MAC Freedom Conference. The Valiants won both meetings in that regular season, defeating Alvernia 65-53 in Purchase on December 6, 2008, before winning the road game in Reading 71-58 on January 24, 2009.

Looking Ahead
The winner of Saturday's game will have little time to rest as they turn right around the following day to take on second-seeded Maritime. The Privateers saw their Skyline Championship run end in the tournament's opening round with a 55-51 loss to Sarah Lawrence. The Valiants are 14-3 all-time against Maritime, but the Privateers have taken the last two matchups, most recently a 67-64 win over Manhattanville back in December in Throggs Neck.

A Maritime-Alvernia semifinal meeting would mark the first matchup between the two programs.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points Per Game: Saint-Louis (15.7), Lotito (14.4), Giordano (14.1)
• Rebounds Per Game: Lotito (6.5), Giordano (6.3), Saint-Louis (3.7)
• Assists Per Game: Lotito (5.2), Saint-Louis (2.2), Hastings (2.1)
• Steals Per Game: Lotito (2.5), Hastings (1.6), Saint-Louis (1.1)
• Field Goal Percentage: Giordano (.614), Saint-Louis (.467), Kistoo-Miles (.456)

Alvernia

• Points Per Game: Mullan (14.4), Cooks (14.3), Kelly (13.9)
• Rebounds Per Game: Gordon (7.6), Kelly (6.4), Slay (5.1)
• Assists Per Game: Cooke (2.8), Kelly (2.3), Slay (2.0), Cercado (2.0)
• Steals Per Game: Kelly (1.7), Slay (1.4), Cooke (1.2)
• Field Goal Percentage: Gordon (.637), Hertz (.467), Cooke (.456)

History

• All-Time Record vs Alvernia: 2-0
• Streak: Manhattanville W2
• Seies Record on Neutral Court: 0-0
• Previous Meetings:
  • 1/24/2009: Manhattanville 71, Alvernia 58
  • 12/6/2008: Alvernia 53, Manhattanville 65 

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants