NEW YORK, N.Y. – Senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) led four Valiants in double figures with a game-high 22 points as the Manhattanville College men's basketball team started the 2016-17 season with a 75-67 victory over Hunter College in non-conference action at the Hunter Sportsplex on Tuesday night.
 
Nardone shot 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line to lead Manhattanville (1-0), which starts off the season with a win for the first time in five years. He was helped by junior Alex Tuci(New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), who chipped in 12 points and hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds, as well as sophomore Willie Britton (Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy), who came off the bench to deliver 15 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
 
The lead changed hands six times during the first half, as the two teams stayed within four points for the first 12-plus minutes. The Valiants made the first big run of the night beginning with 9:32 left, as a layup from junior Chris Ayson(Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) started a 9-0 run that gave Manhattanville a 26-18 lead with 6:37 remaining in the half. Junior Timmy Quinlan (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) hit a three and classmate Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) added a bucket and an assist during the stretch.
 
The visitors built up their lead to as many as nine late in the half on a Nardone three-pointer with 2:41 to go, but Hunter score the last six points of the stanza to give the Valiants a 34-31 lead at the break. Manhattanville shot 46.7 percent (14 of 30) in the opening half.
 
Hunter continued to extend its run by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the second half, grabbing its biggest lead of the game at 40-36 with 15:52 to go. Britton followed up with a three-point play and a layup to get the Valiants back within one, and Nardone added another bucket to continue an 11-0 run and give Manhattanville a lead it would not relinquish.
 
Manhattanville secured the game with solid free-throw shooting and taking excellent care of the ball. The Valiants hit 13-of-17 attempts from the line in the final 4:20 and hit 18-of-23 overall in the second half, putting the team at 76.9 percent (20 of 26) for the evening. Meanwhile, the team did not turn the ball over in the final nine minutes and had just six turnovers for the entire game – including only two miscues in the second half.
 
The six turnovers are the fewest in a game for the Valiants since making only five mistakes in a January 4, 2014 game against Trinity (Conn.) College.
 
Manhattanville will travel north to the Williams College Invitational this weekend, beginning with a matchup against the host Ephs on Friday night at 6 p.m.