PURCHASE, N.Y. – Four Valiants scored in double figures, led by a game-high 20 from junior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas), as the Manhattanville men's basketball team advanced to the championship round of the 2010 Castle Classic with an efficient 76-55 victory over Wheelock College in Friday night's second game in front of a packed crowd at Kennedy Gymnasium.
Manhattanville (2-0) will face off with Western Connecticut State University (3-0) in tomorrow's championship game at 5 p.m., after the Colonials knocked off D3Hoops.com #22 Plattsburgh State University in Friday's first game. The Cardinals (1-1) will face Wheelock (1-1) in the consolation game tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Pointer had his second straight 20-point game of the year, but he also registered a career-high seven steals and added five assists and three rebounds in a great all-around effort. Junior Glen Rodriguez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) came off the bench to add 14 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks, while senior Lamar Glass (Dallas, Texas) had 12 and freshman Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y.) netted 11 points with five boards, a block and a steal as well for the home team.
For Wheelock, Kyle Pierce had a team-leading 16 points, while Bashir Hudson just missed the game's only double-double with 12 points and a game-high nine boards.
Playing their first game of the season in front of the home crowd, Manhattanville stormed out of the gates to start, outscoring the Wildcats, 12-2, in the first 6:42 to take control early on. Pointer had eight points during the early run and the Valiant defense combined to hold Wheelock to 1-for-10 shooting with three turnovers during that span.
The Valiants allowed Wheelock to get within seven points at 20-13 with 7:54 remaining in the half, but the home team came right back with an 11-2 run – capped off by a three-pointer from junior Jeff Ventura (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) – to build up a 16-point edge in less than three minutes. The lead remained in double-figures for the remainder of the half, and Glass put an exclamation point on the frame with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Valiants a 41-25 lead headed into intermission.
Pointer was the team's best offensive option in the first 20 minutes, scoring 16 points in 16 minutes of action and shooting 5 of 7 from the field – including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. The Valiants as a team shot 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field in the first half, including an excellent 6 of 9 from downtown.
Manhattanville was never seriously threatened in the second half, as the Valiant lead never got below 12 points. Wheelock made one last run by scoring seven straight points and holding MVille off the board for three and a half minutes to get within 12 at 52-40 with 8:56 left, but the Wildcats could get no closer. The Valiant advantage grew to as many as 23 very late in the contest on a steal and breakaway dunk by Bramswig with 1:26 left, putting the icing on the team's second win of the year.
The Valiants finished the night shooting an even 50.0 percent both from the field (28 of 56) and from beyond the arc (9 of 18), while also connecting on 73.3 percent (11 of 15) of its attempts from the line. Wheelock had their shooting struggles early and finished with just a 35.0 percent (21 of 60) success rate from the field, including just 3 of 18 (16.7 percent) from three-point land.
In the first game of the evening, Western Connecticut State shot 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from three-point range in giving head coach Bob Campbell his 500th collegiate victory, 86-80 over Plattsburgh State.
Campbell moved to 500-212 in 27 years with the Colonials thanks to four of his players scoring in double figures, led by a team-high 17 from Gary Robinson and 16 each from Wilburt Jarrett and DaQuan Brooks. The loss spoiled yet another milestone for Plattsburgh State's Errol Daniyan, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark late in the second half and ended up with a game-high 18 points.