Written by Julia Ruocchio
When and Where:
February 14, 2024 - Patchogue, NY
Records:
St. Joseph's (L.I.), 12-12, 6-9 Skyline
Manhattanville College, 16-8, 9-6 Skyline
Results:
The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team defeated Manhattanville College, 85-81, in an overtime thriller at the Danzi Center on Wednesday evening.
Top performers:
- Junior Alec Tabada led the Golden Eagles with 22 points, while adding nine rebounds and three assists. He also went a perfect 10-for-10 on free throws
- Senior Spencer Malloy recorded a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds on 7-for-14 shooting from the field
- Junior Xavier Allen scored 19 points with six rebounds and two assists, while senior Terrin Roy contributed 11 points
- Tommy Lotito paced Manhattanville with a 26-point performance on 11-for-20 shooting, also grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double with four assists and a game-high three steals
- Andrew Saint-Louis added 17 points and three assists, while Tony Hastings contributed 12 points
How it happened:
- The Golden Eagles scored the first four points of the game to take an early lead, then the Valiants responded with a 6-0 run on a three for Hastings and a three-point play for Lotito, taking a 6-4 lead at the 17:14 mark
- With the game tied at eight, the Golden Eagles took a 10-8 lead on a basket for Allen before the Valiants' Saint-Louis responded with a three to take back an 11-10 lead with 14:30 on the clock
- A layup for senior Ryan McNeely shortly after put St. Joseph's in the lead 13-12, which was part of a 9-2 run for the hosts to increase the lead to five (19-14) with 10:01 on the clock
- A three-point play for Tabada with 9:08 remaining put the Golden Eagles ahead by six (24-18), then Manhattanville scored five straight points with 7:20 remaining to come within one (24-23), with John Ranaghan scoring all those points for the Valiants
- The Golden Eagles led by three on three separate occasions over the next three minutes, then Tabada's three-point play put the hosts ahead by four (33-29) with just over four minutes remaining
- The Valiants proceeded to go on a 6-2 run over the next two minutes to tie the game at 35 with 1:49 to go, before SJLI scored the final three points of the half to go into the break with a 38-35 advantage
- After a back-and-forth first four minutes of the second half, the Valiants tied the game at 45 apiece at the 15:59 mark on a basket for Ryan Giordano
- Roy responded with a three on the next possession to give SJLI back the lead (48-45), before Manhattanville tied the game again on a basket for Saint-Louis at the 13:21 mark (49-49)
- Malloy scored two consecutive layups to put the hosts ahead by four (53-49), then a layup shortly after for senior Ryan McNeely extended the lead to five (55-50) with 11:35 remaining
- With St. Joseph's ahead by one (59-58) with 8:11 on the clock, McNeely hit a three, followed by a layup for Tabada to provide SJLI with a lead of six (64-58) for their largest lead since the halfway mark of the first half
- Manhattanville responded with a 7-0 run to take a 65-64 lead, with Hastings scoring five of those points including a layup to put the visitors ahead at the 1:49 mark
- Malloy scored four points for SJLI to put them back ahead by three (68-65) with just 16 seconds remaining, then Lotito connected with a three with just three seconds on the clock to tie it up at 68 and send the game into overtime
- The Golden Eagles set the tone instantly, as Roy hit a three 25 seconds into overtime
- Tabada added a pair of made free throws to increase the lead to five (73-68) one minute in, before the Valiants scored the next five points to tie the game at 73 on a three-point play for Saint-Louis at the 3:04 mark
- Giordano provided Manhattnville with a 75-73 lead with 2:32 on the clock, then Malloy responded with a three-point play 12 seconds later to take back a 76-75 lead
- A pair of free throws for junior Thomas Bell padded the lead (78-75) with 1:30 remaining, then Allen and Lotito exchanged three-point baskets with under a minute to go
- Moments later, Roy hit another key three in overtime to increase the lead to six (84-78), before the Golden Eagles came away with an 85-81 win
Notes:
- St. Joseph's shot 44.4% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range
- The Valiants posted a 43.8% shooting percentage from the floor and 25.9% from beyond the arc
- The Golden Eagles held a 41-38 advantage in rebounds
- Manhattanville out-scored SJLI in the paint, 36-34
- The Valiants received 20 bench points compared to SJLI's 13
Next up:
The Golden Eagles host the University of Mount St. Vincent for their final game of the regular season on Saturday, February 17 at 1:00pm.
