JAMAICA, N.Y. – To be among the best in the country, a team has to find a way to win when not playing at its best. The Manhattanville men's basketball team, which is tops among teams receiving votes in the latest D3Hoops.com Division III National Poll, proved that it belonged among the best by pulling out a 53-50 nail-biter over York (N.Y.) College on Wednesday night at the York Health & Physical Education Complex.
With the team's sixth straight win, Manhattanville (9-1, 2-0 Freedom) is off to the best 10-game start in program history, surpassing the 8-1 starts achieved in 1977-78, 1985-86 and 2006-07. The six consecutive victories also match eight other squads for the fifth-longest winning streak in program history.
In a night for defense, Manhattanville managed to shoot just 33.9 percent (20 for 59) from the field and 47.4 percent (9 of 19) from the charity stripe for the evening – compared to 43.2 percent shooting (19 for 44) from the field for the home team. But the Valiants won the game due to its characteristic defensive intensity, forcing 26 York turnovers, as well as some good luck – the home team went just 7 of 18 from the line, including a terrible 2 of 11 in the second half.
The Valiants also used an array of scorers on the night, as 10 different players recorded at least one bucket. Junior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas) led the all-around effort with a team-high 12 points, followed by senior Peter Mehmel (Queens, N.Y.) with nine points and eight rebounds and junior Glen Rodriguez (Ponce, Puerto Rico), who came off the bench to produce eight points and seven boards in 15 minutes of action.
York (3-9, 1-1 CUNYAC) was led by the tandem of Marcel Esonwune and Shamir Wilkinson. Esonwune had game-highs of 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while adding three steals as well; Wilkinson added 14 points.
Early in the contest, Manhattanville managed to take advantage of York miscues, as 10 of the team's first 14 points came off of Cardinal turnovers. As a result, the Valiants opened up a seven-point edge (14-7) on a jumper by junior Felipe Vargas (Miami, Fla.) with 12:04 remaining in the half. The Valiants maintained at least a one-possession edge for most of the frame after that point, building the lead up to eight twice thanks to a layup by junior Brian Bertucci (Gibbsboro, N.J.) and a three-pointer from Rodriguez.
But York returned the favor by capitalizing on some sloppy Manhattanville play to get back into the game, going on a 10-0 run to retake the lead at 28-26 with exactly 60 seconds left in the half and eventually go into the locker rooms with a slight 29-28 lead.
Neither team played its best basketball in the first half, as York turned the ball over 14 times and Manhattanville did so on nine occasions. As a result, Manhattanville took nine more shots than its opponent, allowing the team's 40.6 percent shooting (13 for 32) to counteract 47.8 percent shooting (11 of 23) from the home team.
Pointer and Mehmel each had six points for Manhattanville in the first frame, while Wilkinson led his team with 12 points and Esonwune had eight points, five boards and three blocks in the middle.
Manhattanville used a quick 10-3 run to open the second half and regain the lead again, as an old-fashioned three-point play by Pointer put the visitors up by three and a long-range connection by junior Ivan Jovicic (Belgrade, Serbia) gave the Valiants a six-point lead (38-32) 6:52 into the half. York, meanwhile, was held to 1-for-8 shooting with four turnovers during the stretch.
Yet the Cardinals once again did not go away, coming right back with a 10-2 run that was capped by a three-point play from Esonwune that put the home team back up by a pair at 42-40 with 9:30 left.
The Valiant defense made a big stand after that play, however, keeping York to just one field goal over the next eight minutes, which allowed a sloppy offensive attack to chip away and finally build up a four-point lead on a jumper by senior Lamar Glass (Dallas, Texas) with 1:56 left.
A three-pointer by David Simon got the home team right back within a point, but the Valiants forced a missed jumper and a turnover on York's next two possessions. After Rodriguez hit one of two from the line, a missed three-pointer by Simon was followed by a pair of freebies by Glass that put the visitors up by four and essentially clinched the contest.
Manhattanville will take New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off before returning to the court on Sunday at Moravian College's Greyhound Starters Classic, where the Valiants will take on Muhlenberg College in day one action at 7:30 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. York hosts Brooklyn College on January 5 at 8 p.m.