PURCHASE, N.Y. – Freshman Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) banked home the game-winning shot as time expired to lead the Manhattanville College men's basketball team to a thrilling 56-54 come-from-behind victory over SUNY Brockport in non-conference action on Tuesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
Manhattanville trailed for almost the entire second half against the Golden Eagles, but a pair of free throws from junior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) tied the game at 54 with 1:12 remaining. After both teams missed shots at retaking the lead, the Valiants got one last chance with 2.7 seconds left on the clock after a Brockport turnover. Junior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) lobbed a pass from half-court to Tuci waiting at the side of the paint, and he took one dribble before turning left and sinking the game-winner.
 
Tuci was one of three Valiants in double figures with his 11 points, hitting 3-of-5 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from the line to go with a team-high five rebounds. Junior Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) led all players with a game-high 16 points and Maestre also added 11 points and game-highs of five assists and four steals for Manhattanville (2-4).
 
Aaron White was the top scorer for Brockport (1-3) with 15 points and three steals, while Clifton Lyerly added 14 points and seven rebounds but also turned the ball over with seven seconds left to set up Manhattanville's game-winning play.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads, featuring 10 lead changes and a lead that never got higher than four on either side. The final lead change came with 41 seconds remaining on a Camacho layup that made it a 26-25 game, and senior Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) added a steal and score to make it a 28-25 Valiant lead at the half.
 
Manhattanville went into halftime with that three-point lead but did not score in the second half before Brockport had already taken back the advantage with a 9-0 run to start the frame. The Valiants continually got the deficit down to one possession but seemingly could not break through for most of the half, until an 8-2 run culminating in Maestre's free throws finally knotted up the score at 54 and set the stage for Tuci's heroics.
 
The Valiants finished the night shooting 43.5 percent (20 for 46) from the field and also hit 15 of 19 attempts (78.9 percent) from the line. Brockport, which finished with a 42-26 edge in rebounding, hit only 21 of its 60 field-goal attempts (35.0 percent).
 
Manhattanville will take a few days off for Thanksgiving before returning to action on Monday, when the Valiants travel to Hunter College for a non-conference battle with the Hawks starting at 8 p.m.