PURCHASE, N.Y. – Opening up the final week of the regular season, the Manhattanville College men's basketball earned a huge win on Tuesday night on the court of Kennedy Gymnasium, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy 58-44.
The win was the Valiants' first over the Mariners since 2020 and puts them in sole possession of first place in the Skyline Conference's North Division. Manhattanville holds a game advantage over both USMMA and Maritime with one game left to play for all three teams as the Valiants improved to 11-4 in conference play and 18-6 overall.
Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) was the leading playmaker all over the court as the senior earned his fourth double-double of the year. Leech scored 22 on an 8-for-12 night from the field, hitting both of his three pointer attempts while adding a 4-of-5 mark at the free throw line. Off the boards, he collected 12 rebounds, his highest total since pulling down 15 caroms at Farmingdale on Jan. 21.
Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) was the only other Valiant to join Leech in double-digits on the night as the Valiants' leading scorer hung 14 in the win. It has been close to three months since Lotito did not score 10 in a game as he extends his streak to 18 straight contests in double figures.
Lotito would also finish second to Leech in the team's rebounding effort as he, Ryan Giordano (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) each ended the night with five boards. Lotito accounted for six of the Valiants' nine assists, while Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) had a team-leading three steals in the effort.
A red-hot start for the Valiants put the home team in charge for the duration of the night. Manhattanville opened the contest on a 21-2 run across the first 9:32 of the half. Giordano and Lotito got things started with back-to-back baskets. After Kody Robinson got USMMA on the board with a floater, the Vals put up 17 unanswered points. The Mariners would be unsuccessful in their effort to erase the deficit as they would ultimately be unable to pull closer than seven.
While the dominant opening to the affair seemed to signal a long night was in store for Merchant Marine, the Valiants did cool off over the remainder of the half. USMMA responded with 12 straight points of their own as Manhattanville went scoreless over the following 5:55 after a Mariner timeout bookended the Valiant run. The stretch by Merchant Marin moved the score to 21-14 with 5:33 remaining in the half. The Valiants would score five straight points with four coming via Leech before Robinson hit the final basket of the half with a three pointer with a minute to go. The final four shot attempts all were off the mark, leaving Manhattanville up 26-17 at the half.
After USMMA got back to within seven with an opening basket from Jake Hatch, the Valiants went on an 18-2 run over the following five and a half minutes to all but put the game out of reach. Leech got the run started with a three pointer before converting an old fashioned three point play, ultimately accounting for nine points in the stretch. The Valiants would lead 44-21 with 13:50 left to go. The Mariners had another push left in them, going on a 17-3 run to make it a nine point game with six minutes to play, 47-38. Manhattanville responded with seven straight points to regain the cushion and the momentum as they would go on to close out the game with the 58-44 win.
Up Next
The Valiants control their own destiny in terms of postseason seeding with just one game left to play in the regular season. A win on Saturday will clinch the North Division crown and a top-two seed in the Skyline Conference Championship. Manhattanville will look to get the job done as they host Purchase at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.