PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – Chris Robinson (Bedford-Stuyvesant, N.Y./Westminster School) scored 22 points for the third time this season, helping the Manhattanville University men's basketball team hold off a second-half surge from Saint Joseph's Long Island in Wednesday night's 60-53 win. Manhattanville climbs back to .500 at 10-10 on the year, moving to 5-6 in Skyline play to wrap up cross-divisional action in the conference.

Robinson led the Valiant charge with his 22 points on a 9-of-16 clip from the floor while going 3-of-5 at the free throw line. The senior transfer last reached his season-high on Jan. 3 against Mount Saint Mary as Manhattanville improves to 3-0 in games Robinson has put 20 points up on the board. He added six rebounds on the night, matched by Daniel Marinaccio (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea) for the team's lead.

John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) poured in 11, drilling three shots from deep, while coming down with five boards. Isiah Middleton (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) scored eight, with the other leading offensive producers coming from the bench in Carlos Urena (Corona, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) (eight points) and Antonio Del Vescovo (Mount Olive, N.J./Mount Olive) (seven).

The 60 points was the fewest scored by the Valiants in a win since Nov. 12, 2023, a 52-51 victory over Neumann.

The Valiants looked to have taken control of the game through the first half, shooting 50 percent from the field while outscoring the Golden Eagles by 16. Seeing his first action in three games while battling through injury, Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) drilled a three-pointer on the first shot of the night to get Manhattanville started. The visitors would later score 12-straight points to push the early lead up to 17-4. The Valiant lead remained in double digits for the rest of the half, peaking at 18. Ranaghan scored nine points to lead all scorers in the opening 20 minutes.

Following last week's two losses, the Valiants were hoping for smooth sailing the rest of the way home to get back into the win column. The Golden Eagles had other plans, shooting 54 percent in the second half as the Valiants shot only 33 percent and went 0-for-7 from deep. The 16-point lead that began the half was cut down to four with seven minutes left to play. As Manhattanville struggled to make shots, Kenny Rodriguez brought SJLI back within a single possession with 5:44 remaining, slicing the Valiant lead down to 49-46.

Despite the shooting disparity between the teams, Robinson was determined to not leave Long Island with a loss. The senior delivered 16 of Manhattanville's 25 second half points to withstand the Golden Eagle surge. Robinson gave the Valiants a bit of wiggle room after the Rodriguez basket with a jumper to put Manhattanville up by five. He would finish with six of the team's final 11 points, helping the Valiants hold off Saint Joseph's until the final buzzer.

Up Next
The Valiants will serve as the pregame special for Sunday's Big Game, hosting Yeshiva at noon.

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