Down 70-63 with 1:41 left in regulation, captain John DiBetta got to the foul line and drained a pair of free throws to pull Manhattanville with five. On the next Golden Eagle possession, Brendan Flynn forced a five second count against David Acres and Moffett buried a three-pointer from the top of the circle to bring his team within two. Saint Joseph’s got the ball in quickly and Brian Fenton attempted a long pass up court, but little-used sophomore Jason Walsh intercepted and Moffett threw in a twisting layup in traffic to tie the score with 43 seconds left.
The Valiants would actually get a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Justin Morris’ (West Haven, Conn.) three from the corner was off the mark and Manhattanville could not get a clean second shot after corralling the rebound.
Overtime, however, was a different story. Moffett canned back-to-back three pointers with just over three minutes left but the Golden Eagles countered with four straight free throws to keep it a tight game. With the score tied at 80 and 1:16 left, Phil Lipari was fouled driving to the basket and calmly sunk both free throws to put his team up. Moffett, too, was fouled on the other end but he missed the second, after a Saint Joseph’s timeout, and Lipari sank two more after the rebound to provide the final margin as DiBetta’s last second desperation three was off the mark.
Moffett’s 31 points are the most by any Valiant this season and were eight better than his previous career-best. The junior scored 26 of his points in the second half and overtime after missing his first start of the season because of a disciplinary issue. Moffett also added 11 rebounds, a career-high, for his third double-double of the season.
Three other Valiants also finished in double-figures, led by 16 points and six assists, in a team-high 43 minutes, from Donte Chisolm. DiBetta added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Morris had 11 points.
Manhattanville shot just 36.8% from the field, their worst effort of the season, and connected only 5-of-21 three-pointers. The Valiants also were utterly dominated on the glass, surrendering 21 offensive rebounds and getting out-rebounded by a staggering 59-36 margin.
Acree led Saint Joseph’s with 23 points, playing all 45 minutes of the game. Dondi Peterson had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double and Lipari added 19 points off the bench in the win. The Golden Eagles (11-6, 7-3 Skyline) shot 41.4% for the game and made 19-of-23 foul shots, including 11-of-12 in the overtime period.
With the loss, the Valiants fall a game out of first place in the Skyline behind Stevens and Old Westbury, each at 8-2. Manhattanville and Saint Joseph’s are tied for third with identical 7-3 league records.
The Valiants (14-5, 7-3 Skyline) will try to regroup in time for a big game Thursday night at Mount Saint Mary. Tip-off in that game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Saint Joseph's (L.I.) vs Manhattanville 1-30-07 8:00 p.m. at White Plains, N.Y. (County Center) At White Plains, N.Y. (County Center) SAINT JOSEPH'S (L.I.) 84, MANHATTANVILLE 81 SAINT JOSEPH'S (L.I.) (11-6,7-3 Skyline) David Acree 8-23 3-4 23; Phil Lipari 5-14 6-6 19; Dondi Peterson 5-8 1-2 11; Jorge Martinez 5-11 1-1 11; Brandon Freeman 3-8 3-4 9; Chris Niblock 1-2 5-6 7; Brian Fenton 1-2 0-0 2; Brendan Fuchs 1-2 0-0 2; Sean Hyde 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 19-23 84. MANHATTANVILLE (14-5,7-3 Skyline) Cody Moffett 10-16 7-9 31; Donte Chisolm 6-14 4-4 16; John DiBetta 4-11 6-8 14; Justin Morris 5-11 1-2 11; Brian Fink 1-8 1-2 4; Jason Walsh 1-2 1-1 3; Joe Cooke 1-4 0-0 2; Eduardo Huezo 0-3 0-0 0; Brendan Flynn 0-2 0-0 0; DeVon Barnett 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 28-76 20-26 81. Saint Joseph's (L.I.)......... 40 30 14 - 84 Manhattanville................ 36 34 11 - 81 3-point goals-Saint Joseph's (L.I.) 7-17 (David Acree 4-7; Phil Lipari 3-9; Brian Fenton 0-1), Manhattanville 5-21 (Cody Moffett 4-4; Brian Fink 1-5; John DiBetta 0-1; Justin Morris 0-3; Joe Cooke 0-1; DeVon Barnett 0-3; Donte Chisolm 0-4). Fouled out--Saint Joseph's (L.I.)-Jorge Martinez, Manhattanville-None. Rebounds-Saint Joseph's (L.I.) 59 (Brandon Freeman 12), Manhattanville 36 (Cody Moffett 11). Assists-Saint Joseph's (L.I.) 19 (David Acree 5; Jorge Martinez 5), Manhattanville 18 (Donte Chisolm 6). Total fouls-Saint Joseph's (L.I.) 19, Manhattanville 19. A-200 First Manhattanville game played at Westchester County Center.