Eight days after a 70-68 loss at Merchant Marine, the Valiants overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to tie the game with 18 seconds left on a three-pointer from Brendan Flynn. But Divine Jackson put back a Panther miss as time expired to send Manhattanville to its second Skyline Conference loss of the season.
“Our problem right now is playing hard from start to finish,” Head Coach Pat Scanlon said. “We came out with no urgency whatsoever and dug a huge hole for ourselves.”
The Valiants are 7-1 at Kennedy Gym, including a 3-0 mark in league play, but just 4-3 away from their home court. Manhattanville’s last win on the road was December 4 against Western Connecticut State.
“We’re struggling on the road right now,” Scanlon said. “We’re not playing with the same energy and enthusiasm, and it’s something that’s got to change if we’re going to accomplish our goals.”
Manhattanville’s sluggish first half Thursday included 16 turnovers and saw Old Westbury shoot 52% from the floor. The Valiants turned things around in the second half, forcing 14 Old Westbury turnovers and committing only five turnovers of their own, but the lead was too great to overcome.
Brian Fink led the way for Manhattanville with 15 points, draining 4-of-9 from three-point range. Flynn scored nine points as part of a strong effort from the Valiant bench. Sophomore Jason Walsh came through with one of his better efforts of the season, totaling eight points and two blocked shots in just nine minutes.
John DiBetta scored 10 points, moving to within seven of 1,000 for his career. DiBetta will get his next crack at 1,000 career points when the Valiants take on undefeated defending league champion Farmingdale State at home Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Donte Chisolm (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Justin Morris also had 10 points.
Garthlette James led Old Westbury (9-5, 5-1 Skyline) with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. The Panthers shot 50.0% from the floor and out-rebounded the Valiants by a dominating 39-24 margin.
Saturday’s showdown with Farmingdale State, the team that ended Manhattanville’s (11-4, 4-2 Skyline) 2005-06 Skyline Tournament run in the Championship Game, can be seen live on www.GoValiants.com beginning at 1:50 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door and are available at the general admission cost of five dollars.