PURCHASE, NY - In the first contest against a non-region team in its four-year history, the Wheelock College men's basketball team fell in the first round of Manhattanville College's Castle Classic, 76-55, to the hosts on Friday evening in Kennedy Gymnasium.

The Wildcats, who slipped to 1-1, will take on Plattsburgh State University, ranked 22nd in the D3hoops.com preseason national poll, on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the tournament consolation game. The Valiants moved to 2-0 and will play for the title at 5 p.m. against Western Connecticut State University, which is receiving votes toward the national rankings.

Sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) tied his career high with 12 points for Wheelock while hauling in a career-best nine rebounds, and junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) totaled 16 points and three helpers. Each went 6-for-9 from the field, while Pierce hit all four of his free-throw tries.

Senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) and junior Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) added eight points each, and junior Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) had five rebounds and three steals. The Wildcats held a 35-34 rebounding edge, grabbing 15 on the offensive end.

Manhattanville shot 50.0 percent from the field, including 9-for-18 from three-point range, while assisting 24 of its 28 baskets. Junior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, TX/Skyline) led all scorers with 20 points to go along with seven steals and five assists, and classmate Glen Rodriguez (Ponce, PR/Immaculata-La Salle [FL]) had 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Lamar Glass (Dallas, TX/Skyline) added 12 points, and freshman Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) notched 11.

Manhattanville scored the first seven points of the game by 16:01 of the opening half before edging out to a 16-5 advantage. However, DiNuzzo came off the bench and canned a pair of three-pointers, the second pulling the visitors within 18-11 at 9:18. Pierce knocked down two free throws at 7:33 to keep the Wildcats close, trailing 23-15, but the Valiants tallied an 8-0 run to forge ahead 31-15 by 5:32. Hudson dropped back-to-back hoops to bring his team within 12 with 3:21 left, but the hosts took a 41-25 advantage into the locker room.

After trailing by as many as 19 points, at 52-33, Wheelock blanked Manhattanville for a 6:47 stretch of the second stanza, holding the hosts to 0-for-6 shooting with four turnovers during that time. The Wildcats rattled off seven straight points, making it 52-40 on a Rice lay-up at 8:56. However, the Valiants later used a 9-2 run to nab their first 20-point lead with 3:58 left on a Glass three-pointer. Wheelock never again trailed by fewer than 17 points.