THROGGS NECK, N.Y. - The Manhattanville men's basketball team 2023-24 season officially drew to a close on Saturday afternoon, as the sixth-seeded Valiants fell to the third-seeded Golden Wolves, 72-70. With the loss, the Valiants' final record will sit at 18-10. 

Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, grabbing a team-high six rebounds and team-high mark of six assists. The graduate guard will finish his career with 1287 points, placing him thirteenth all-time in the Valiant scorer ranks, he slots in at fourth in the record books with 443 career assists, sixth in career steals with 187, and tying sixth all time in games played in a Valiant uniform, with 107. Fellow graduate student Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) collected eleven points in the loss, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, adding on six rebounds. The West Nyack native also finishes his Valiant career in the record books, cementing himself in the second spot for career blocks with 112, also placing seventh in all time field goal percentage with .562 percent. 

Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) rounded out the double-digit scorers, tallying 19 points with an impressive 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. 

In the first half, both teams would trade baskets, looking to gain a margin over their counterparts. The Golden Wolves would find the biggest margin first in the contest, holding a two-possession advantage over the Valiants for a score of 13-8 with six minutes elapsed in the opening stanza. Manhattanville would swing that advantage back in their favor, embarking on a 14-3 run over the next four minutes with Lotito and Andrew Melillo (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) leading the charge on 6-of-8 shooting, pinning the contest at 22-15 for the Valiants. Alvernia would close out the half on a run of their own, a 14-4 run taking the lead back before the halftime horn sounded, for a 38-32 Golden Wolves lead. 

Over the opening eleven minutes of the final half, the Valiants would fight themselves back to an even score, barely edging out the Golden Wolves in the scoring department 26-20 for a 10-of-19 shooting clip. A Melillo layup would even the score at 58 all with 8:38 remaining in the second half. Both squads would trade blows over the remaining eight minutes, as no team could find a margin of more than four points. The Valiants would score four-straight points to tie the contest at 70 all with just 43 ticks left. The Golden Wolves would head to the line and sink both free throws to take the 72-70 lead. In the final possession of the game, the Valiants could not find and open shot against the smothering Alvernia defense, with the final buzzer sounding on the 2023-34 season with a close 72-70 loss. 

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