WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Junior Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) led all scorers with 24 points, including 16 in the second half, as the Manhattanville men's basketball team came back to earn a crucial 69-65 win over Wilkes in Freedom Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.

Bramswig had another big game for Manhattanville (8-7, 2-2 Freedom), hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and also adding nine rebounds and two steals. Freshman Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) and graduate student Craig Augustine (Citrus, Fla./Citrus) also reached double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Maestre added five assists, four rebounds and two steals in the win, while junior Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) chipped in nine points and six rebounds as well.

Tyler Breznitsky led Wilkes (7-7, 0-4 Freedom) with 15 points, but the Valiants did an excellent job shutting down Chris Shovlin, who came into the game as the Freedom Conference's leading scorer but was limited to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting – including just 1-of-9 shooting in the second half.

Maestre and Bramswig combined to score Manhattanville's first 11 points of the contest, beginning with a Maestre layup on the first possession of the game. The two teams remained close for much of the half, with a pair of Bramswig free throws making it 12-11 with 13:39 to go.

Wilkes held onto a slight lead for the remainder of the half, as the Colonels tried to gain some breathing room only to be held in check by the Valiants. Augustine brought the visitors back within one at 25-24 with 3:08 to go, but Wilkes scored the final six points of the half to open up its largest lead, 31-24, at the break.

The home team built up its lead to eight points early in the second half, but the Valiants used a quick 8-0 run in 85 seconds to knot the score at 32. Sophomore Niko Emanuilidis (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) started the run with a free throw, followed by a three from sophomore Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) off a feed from Emanuilidis. Back-to-back steals by Flynn and Campbell followed, leading to a pair of fast-break buckets that evened up the contest.

After the two teams exchanged buckets, Manhattanville forced another Wilkes turnover and picked up its first lead of the half on a Campbell layup, making it 40-38 Valiants with 14:25 to go. The score differential remained razor thin for much of the half, as the margin remained no greater than three points until just over a minute remaining.

Down by two points with 1:41 to go, Maestre sunk a big three-pointer to put Manhattanville up by a point, and Augustine followed on the next possession with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Valiants ahead by four at 62-58 with 1:09 left.

After Breznitsky cut the lead to two, Bramswig came right back with a huge layup of his own to regain the two-possession edge, followed by a Bramswig steal and two subsequent Maestre freebies to make it a 66-60 edge with under 30 seconds to go. Shovlin made things interesting with a three-pointer, but Bramswig came up big at the line this time with three free throws to seal the important conference win.

After managing only 29.6 percent (8 for 27) shooting in the opening frame, Manhattanville came on strong in the second half, connecting at a 53.3 percent (16 for 30) clip to finish at 42.1 percent for the game. Wilkes shot very well (52.0 percent) for the afternoon, but the Valiants' 34-26 edge in rebounds meant seven more shots for the visitors, and that ultimately proved to be the difference. The Valiants also forced 24 Wilkes turnovers, converting them into 21 points.

Manhattanville will continue Freedom Conference play on Wednesday, when the Valiants host Delaware Valley beginning at 8 p.m. The live GoValiants.TV video broadcast will begin from Kennedy Gym at approximately 7:55 p.m.