PURCHASE, N.Y. – Five Valiants scored in double figures to lead a total team effort as the Manhattanville men's basketball remained in the hunt for a Freedom Conference Tournament berth with a crucial 76-68 victory over Delaware Valley in conference play on Tuesday night at a packed Kennedy Gym.
 
The victory moves Manhattanville (11-13, 7-6 Freedom) into a three-way tie for third place in the Freedom Conference with Delaware Valley and FDU-Florham, with just one game left in the regular season. The Valiants now control their own destiny in the race for the playoffs, as a victory on Saturday against Misericordia would give Manhattanville the second seed and a home game in the Freedom Conference Tournament semifinals. The Valiants could also make the postseason if they lost on Saturday, as a Delaware Valley win over FDU-Florham would give the Valiants the fourth seed via a tiebreaker.
 
On a night when neither team shot the ball well, the Valiants got just enough from a bunch of players – including a trio of underclassmen – to pull out the win. SophomoreAnthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) overcame a scoreless first half to finish with a team-best 15 points, while classmate Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) matched those 15 points and also came a rebound short of a double-double with nine caroms. Fellow sophomore Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) had a season-high 14 points, including a 7-of-9 effort from the line, and added seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Senior Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) added 12 points and six rebounds in the win, while classmate Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) had a good all-around game with eight points, a season-high 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.
 
Chris Moran led Delaware Valley (12-12, 7-6 Freedom) with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go with eight rebounds and two blocks. Francis Arnold, the conference's leading scorer, scored 21 points but needed 22 shots to do so, and he also chipped in six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
 
Tuesday's game was not an offensive masterpiece, as neither team shot over 37.0 percent from the field for the night. Manhattanville shot 22 of 60 (36.7 percent) from the field, including 6 of 24 from beyond the arc, but the home team was bailed out by 38 trips to the charity stripe, 26 of which were converted (68.4 percent). Delaware Valley, which entered the game ranked 19th in Division III in three-point percentage at nearly 40 percent, was limited by the conference's best three-point defense to a 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) effort from behind the arc and 36.8 percent (25 of 68) shooting overall from the field.
 
After nearly three minutes of scoreless basketball, Winter finally opened the scoring with a layup and Manhattanville never trailed in the opening half, as the Valiants jumped out to a 12-4 lead that was capped by a Campbell layup with 13:23 left. Delaware Valley clawed back to tie the game at 12 with 10:47 remaining, but the Valiants kept the Aggies to only three field goals for the remainder of the half. Even so, the Valiant lead was only one at 22-21 at the break, as both teams shot under 32.0 percent from the field and went a combined 2 for 18 from three-point land.
 
A Moran layup out of the break gave DelVal back the lead at 23-22, but Manhattanville responded with a 21-6 run to open up the game's largest lead at 43-29 with 13:08 on the clock. The lead did not last, however, as the visitors came right back with a 16-1 run that put the Aggies up by one at 45-44 with under eight minutes to go.
 
Two free throws from Winter gave the Valiants back the lead, but it remained a one-possession game until a game-changing 11-2 run gave Manhattanville some much-needed breathing room at 66-54 with 2:36 remaining. All that was left to do from there was hit some free throws, and the home team went 10 of 14 from the line down the stretch to secure the key victory.
 
Manhattanville will celebrate its two seniors while also looking to extend their collegiate careers on Saturday, as the Valiants and Cougars meet at Kennedy Gym with a scheduled tipoff at 3 p.m. The game will be video streamed live on GoValiants.TV beginning at approximately 2:55 p.m.