PURCHASE, N.Y. – The late-game magic wore out for the Manhattanville men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the AJ Buchanan Classic, as a last-second game-tying shot was off target and the Valiants suffered an 81-79 defeat to Lynchburg at Kennedy Gym.
 
Attempting to pull off a second straight second-half comeback, junior Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) gave Manhattanville a one-point lead at 79-78 with 36 seconds left with an acrobatic layup similar to last night's game-winning shot. But needing just one defensive stop, Lynchburg instead got a clutch three-pointer from Tournament Most Valuable Player Manny Hernandez to put the Hornets up by two, 81-79, with 19 seconds left.
 
The Valiants had one final chance to tie the score or win the game outright, but Campbell's runner bounced off the rim as time expired.
 
Junior Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) had another solid all-around effort to lead Manhattanville, coming up one rebound short of a double-double for the third straight game with 17 points and nine boards to go with three assists and five steals. Four other Valiants reached double figures on the day as well: freshman Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) scored 15 points, Campbell added 13, sophomore Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) matched his career high with 12 points, and sophomore Connor Quigley (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) netted a career-high 10.
 
Hernandez had many other key baskets in addition to his game-winner, finishing with a game-high 22 points. Gary Boone, Jr. added 15 points and a team-best seven rebounds, while Xavier Parham chipped in 11 and Alex Graves also reached double figures with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
 
In addition to Hernandez's MVP effort, Manhattanville's Bramswig and Campbell, Lynchburg's Michael Wims, Berkeley's Jose Stable and Gordon's David Dempsey all earned All-Tournament honors at the end of the weekend.
 
Lynchburg controlled play for much of the first half, using a 12-0 run to build up a 21-9 advantage with 10:27 left on a layup by Omar Kemp. The lead grew to as many as 14 on an Austen Arnold bucket, but a pair of threes from Quigley halted that momentum and Manhattanville battled back to tie the score at 31 on a pair of free throws from Maestre with 2:41 remaining in the half.
 
The Hornets went into the half with a one-point advantage at 39-38, as Campbell sunk a three-pointer with time running down in the frame.
 
Manhattanville got back to even again early in the second half on another Campbell layup; however, the visitors used another 12-0 run to retake control, as Graves hit a lay-in to make it a 53-41 score.
 
The deficit was still eight points approaching the midway point of the second half, but the home team rattled off nine straight points to re-take the lead, with Flynn giving the Valiants a 65-64 edge with 8:04 left. A three-point play from Arnold and a Parham bucket put Lynchburg back up four, but Bramswig answered with a dunk and the game remained a one-possession contest the rest of the way, leading to the dramatic conclusion.

Lynchburg shot a solid 52.5 percent (32 of 61) from the field on the night, including over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Manhattanville did not shoot poorly either, connecting at a 47.4 percent (27 of 57) clip for the day.
 
Manhattanville (5-3) will begin play at the second of its three straight tournaments to end 2012 on Friday, as the Valiants battle Keuka in round one of RIT's Harold J. Brodie Tournament beginning at 6 p.m.