BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - After 40 minutes of back-and-forth basketball, the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons narrowly fell to the Manhattanville Valiants by a score of 64-65. The Gryphons now sit at 1-1 in Skyline play and have one game remaining before the winter break. That game will be played on Tuesday, December 13th, as Sarah Lawrence hosts Elmira College at the Campbell Sports Center with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

By the Numbers

• Senior Chris Torres led the Gryphons with 21 points and added six assists as well
• First Year Brady Burman turned in another strong outing with 16 points for Sarah Lawrence
• Lucas Murray scored just four points but grabbed 12 rebounds for the Gryphons, a large part of their 11 second-chance points
• First Year Eamon Kelly continued his strong all-around play, scoring 10 points, grabbing three rebounds and a steal

How it Happened
The game started with one of the hottest shooting streaks that Sarah Lawrence has seen all season, as an opening score by Manhattanville would be answered by an 11-0 run fueled by two threes from Torres as well as an assist to Burman who would hit a triple of his own. Not even three minutes into the contest the Valiants would be forced to take a timeout in hopes of stopping Sarah Lawrence's offense. The timeout would briefly prove beneficial for the Valiants, scoring on the ensuing possession but they remained unable to stop the Gryphons' offense. Torres would once again find Burman, who connected from deep for a second time, and then the senior got his own, scoring on two of Sarah Lawrence's next three possessions and giving the Gryphons a 14-point cushion just five minutes into the game. The Valiants would briefly bring the lead back to single-digits, but the Gryphons would once again pull away as another three-pointer, this time from Kelly, would extend the lead to 10 with 11:20 remaining in the half. Once the five-minute mark had passed, the Gryphons were still maintaining a 12-point lead and were looking at entering the half with some insurance, but Manhattanville had other plans. The Valiants would embark on a 15-4 run to end the half, catalyzed by an Andrew Saint-Louis three-pointer with 4:46 to go. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Gryphons held on to a lead, but only by a single point as the score sat at 35-34 in favor of the hosts.

The second half started the same way as the first half, with the Gryphons connecting from deep and looking to get out to a sizable lead. Amos Grey started the scoring for the Gryphons with a connection from deep and he was followed by Murray, who did the same a minute later. Both teams would struggle to score at the beginning of the half, but with under 15 minutes remaining the lead would be reduced to just one point again, thanks to a three-pointer by the Valiants which would bring the score to 42-41. After two converted free-throw attempts from Burman, Manhattanville would once again connect from deep to tie the game at 44 with 13 minutes remaining. Another run for the Valiants would give them the lead and extend it to double digits, as they scored 13 points in the next five minutes while holding the Gryphons to just two points via a Chris Dougherty layup. It would be Torres to help bring the Gryphons back within striking distance, hitting a three-pointer to end the Valiants' scoring run and bring the lead back down to single-digits. The two teams would trade baskets before another triple from Torres would reduce the lead to five points and force Manhattanville to call a timeout. With 4:51 remaining in the game, the Gryphons had recovered and trailed the Valiants by a score of 59-54. Manhattanville could not score coming out of the timeout this time and after two minutes of scoreless basketball, the Gryphons took advantage of the bonus and made two trips to the free-throw line. Murray and Justin DiFabio converted on three of their four total attempts from the line to bring the lead down to two points with 2:01 to go. The Gryphons had made another small run and the Valiants had not scored in the previous three minutes and 35 seconds. A three-point play for Manhattanville would bring the lead back to three points, but the Gryphons were not done, with Torres hitting a tough shot to the left of the basketball to keep it a one-score game. Following the made-basket, a timeout for Sarah Lawrence would allow the defense to set up for a potential game-changing stop. Coming out of the timeout Manhattanville went at the Gryphons, taking a layup in the paint and getting a put-back attempt, but neither shot would connect. DiFabio grabbed the most important rebound of the day for Sarah Lawrence and gave them a chance to take the lead. A timeout by the Gryphons allowed them to draw up a play and with 21 seconds remaining in the game, it was Kelly who got the chance. Driving to the basket, the first year from New Orleans, Louisiana got fouled and walked to the line with the opportunity to tie the game or take the lead. After sinking the first shot to tie the game, Kelly converted once again to give the Gryphons a 64-63 lead and with 12 seconds remaining, Manhattanville took a timeout to set up their offense. Coming out of the timeout, the first look for the Valiants was shut down but with time running out Ryan Giordano managed to get open in the lane for a layup that would give the lead to Manhattanville and leave just 0.3 seconds for the Gryphons to respond. A desperation heave from DiFabio would not connect as the final buzzer sounded and after trading blows throughout the contest, the Valiants would claim victory by a score of 65-64.

Up Next
The Gryphons (2-8, Skyline 1-1) will take the court one final time in the 2022 calendar year as they host Elmira on Tuesday, December 13th in a non-conference matchup. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at the Campbell Sports Center with live video and live stats available at GoGryphons.com.