NEW YORK, N.Y. – Senior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) led all scorers with 23 points and Manhattanville used an effective press defense to score 35 points off 24 Baruch turnovers as the Valiant men's basketball team cruised to an 84-70 victory in a non-conference matchup at the ARC Arena on Thursday night.
The Valiants had a little bit of everything both offensively and defensively in Thursday's win. Ten different players scored to help the visitors set a new season high for points, while seven players had at least one steal as the visitors forced their opponents into the most turnovers of any game so far this year.
As usual, Pointer was one of the offensive leaders for Manhattanville, leading all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while also dishing out seven assists to go with four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) posted his second straight double-double for the Valiants as well, scoring 10 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds, including matching Baruch's best overall rebounder with seven alone on the offensive glass.
Senior Armani Blackmon (Plano, Texas/Plano East) also had a good night with 14 points and six rebounds, while senior Jeff Ventura (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cypress Bay) and sophomore Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) both just missed double figures with nine points each. Campbell also led all players with four steals, followed by Bramswig with three.
Baruch was led by Chris Beauchamp with 14 points, while Nate Young added 13 points and six rebounds and Mickey Abbatiello chipped in 11 points as well.
The pace was set early in the game thanks to Manhattanville's consistent defensive pressure, as the Valiant full-court press wreaked havoc on Baruch in the first half and well in the second to allow the visitors to achieve a comfortable cushion.
The first half was evenly played by both teams, as both squads shot the ball well and also had trouble holding onto the ball at times. The game was tied at 30-all with 3:45 left in the half before the Valiants closed on a 10-2 run, with senior Ivan Jovicic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports HS Belgrade) scoring all seven of his points during the run and Bramswig finishing off the frame with a layup to give the Valiants a 40-32 lead.
After 20 minutes of play, Beauchamp led all players with 12 points, while Pointer had nine to pace the visitors. Both teams shot the ball well in the opening half, Manhattanville hitting 17 of 32 (53.1 percent) and Baruch connecting at a 50.0 percent clip (13 for 26), but the 16 turnovers forced by the Valiants in the first half gave the visitors their eight-point edge at the break.
Manhattanville came out very strong in the second half, using its pressure defense and a array of long-range shots to quickly build up a big edge. After a quick Baruch bucket to begin the frame, the Valiants went on a lightning fast 11-2 run in a span of 101 seconds, as Pointer nailed back-to-back threes and Ventura added one of his own to quickly put the visitors up 15 at 51-36.
Baruch tried to hang with Manhattanville, but more threes from Pointer and freshman Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) were followed by a conventional three-point play from Pointer to give the Valiants a game-high 23-point lead at 64-41 with 12:28 left in the game.
The Valiant lead never fell beneath 12 points the rest of the way, as Manhattanville relaxed its pressure down the stretch and allowed the lead to shrink slightly.
Manhattanville (3-5) will return to action on Saturday, as the Valiants travel to Wayne, N.J., to face William Paterson beginning at 3 p.m. Baruch (3-5) will play its second straight game against Purchase residents on Saturday, hosting SUNY Purchase at 1 p.m.