PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never let FDU-Florham get close as the Valiants cruised to a 75-52 victory over the Devils in MAC Freedom action on Wednesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
The win keeps Manhattanville (13-9, 6-5 MAC Freedom) right in the thick of the postseason race, as the Valiants moved into a three-way tie for third place with Misericordia University and Wilkes University, one game back of Delaware Valley University for second place.
 
In a game that featured contributions from nearly everyone on the roster, senior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) led the way with a game-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) reached double figures for the second straight game with 14 points, while classmate Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) had only three points but dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds as well.
 
The game started off slowly, with both teams misfiring early and the squads combining for just eight points over the first 3:21. But Manhattanville exploded after that, jumping out on an extensive 35-9 run over the next 13:29 to take a 39-13 lead. The Valiants shot 15-of-29 from the field and recorded seven steals during the stretch, while FDU-Florham (4-18, 2-9 MAC Freedom) hit only 4-of-19 shots and turned the ball over nine times.
 
FDU had one run in them on both sides of the halftime break, outscoring the Valiants 15-4 over a six-minute stretch to get the deficit down to 15 at 43-28 with 17:05 left. Manhattanville came right back, however, with a 22-5 run that built up its biggest lead of the night at 65-33 with 11:01 remaining. Ayson had 12 of his points during the stretch, in which the Valiants went 8-for-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
The Valiants went into cruise control after that point, getting the bench some good minutes down the stretch. Sophomore Kes Adjekughele (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had two points, four boards and two emphatic blocks to lead the Valiant charge, while freshman Connor Prendergast (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) also had a late three to fire up the Kennedy Gym crowd.
 
Manhattanville will play its final regular-season game away from Kennedy Gym on Saturday, when the Valiants travel to Eastern University for a crucial 3 p.m. tipoff versus the Eagles.