PURCHASE (NY) – Manhattanville College placed five players in double figures as the Valiants notched a 77-67 victory over visiting Delaware Valley College in a Freedom Conference.
The loss dropped the Aggies to 12-12 overall, 5-8 in the Freedom and officially eliminated them from playoff contention. They were seeking their second straight postseason berth as last year's squad capped a remarkable turnaround from a 3-22, 0-14 campaign in 2007-08 by winning eight conference games (13 overall) and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1969. Delaware Valley will end its season at Eastern University on Saturday.
Delaware Valley used an 8-0 run, including six points by
James Jones, to open a 21-12 lead just past the midway point of the opening half. Jones finished the stanza with 13 points, including the 1,000-point of the junior guard's career that includes a one-year stint with Widener University. Manhattanville (11-12, 5-7) crept back and pulled to within one, 32-31, at the break.
The Aggies still held a four-point lead after
Jon Evans drained a trey five minutes in the second half. However a pair of bombs by Felipe Vargas keyed a 15-4 run that gave the Valiants a 53-46 advantage with 9:50 to go.
Chris Mayo came back downcourt and hit a 3-pointer for Delaware Valley, but eight straight points by Manhattanville sealed the game and ended the Aggies' playoff hopes.
The Valiants went to the foul line 32 times (18-for-32) compared to just 14 (8-for-14) by Delaware Valley. Their defense forced 23 turnovers and converted them into 29 points. Trevoy Pointer paced Manhattanville with 18 points while Lamar Glass added 17. Vargas and Angelo Laroche had 11 points apiece and Glen Rodriguez poured in 10 points in the win.
Jones led all players with 20 points and also dished out four assists. Senior
Brian Hilinski added 13 points and seven boards in a second straight start.
Darryl White, the Aggies' leading scorer with 18.3 points and 10 boards per game, was in foul trouble all evening and finished with just four points and four rebounds before fouling out.
