PURCHASE, N.Y. - Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) scored a career-high 29 points, with none bigger than his two free throws in the closing seconds of regulation to life the Manhattanville University men's volleyball team past Old Westbury on Saturday night, 73-72.
After coming up on the short end of a pair of tightly-fought contests over the past seven days, the Valiants (6-9, 2-4 Skyline) were seeking a reversal of fortune. The Panthers (6-8, 1-5 Skyline) had completely wiped Manhattanville's 14-point lead earlier in the second half, coming all the way back to take the lead on a Zion William layup and-one to go up 72-71 with 27 seconds left to play. It looked like another heartbreak was looming as the Valiants turned the ball over one the ensuing possesion and sent Williams back to the line with a desperation foul. The Panther freshman, however, was unable to connect on the front end of the one-and-one, allowing the Valiants one last chance. Saint-Louis drove to the basket with six seconds left looking for the game-winning layup, drawing the foul. The Valiants' leading scorer hit both tries at the free throw line before Williams' desperation heave was just off the mark to allow Manhattanville to end the week on a high note.
The Valiants shot 54 percent in the first half, although it would take the home team close to four minutes into the game to connect on their first basket, as Saint-Louis got his career-night started with a layup to get the Valiants on the board. The Panthers led by as many as 12 before the Valiants started cooking over the final seven minutes of the half. Down 25-13, Manhattanville came to life with a 26-7 run to close things out and take a 39-32 lead into the locker room.
Manhattanville took their largest lead of the contest with four straight baskets to bring the score to 49-35. Despite having the sizable lead with 16 minutes left to play, the Valiants could not delvier the knockout blow before the Panthers roared back with nine straight, ultimately pulling even at 60-60 with 6:23 left to play. From there, neither team would lead by more than four en route to the dramatic finish.
Saint-Louis reached 20 points for a third-straight game and fourth in his last five, hitting five shots from beyond the arc and finishing 4-for-4 at the stripe. John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) joined the senior in double-figures with an 11-point performance.
The three point percentage beyond the arc was significantly close with Manhattanville leading with 35.7 percent and the Panthers with 33.3 percent.
The Valiants out-rebounded Old Westbury 34-32, with Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) pulling down seven boards while Saint-Louis and Emmanuel Udeagha (Yonkers, N.Y./Aduvie International School) added five apiece.
Up Next
Manhattanville heads to Long Island to take on Farmingdale State College on January 21 at 7:00pm.
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