News Release

PURCHASE, N.Y. — The Valiants overcame a five-point halftime deficit and used a late 15-2 run to skate past a pesky Yeshiva team 72-64 at Kennedy Gym Wednesday night in the Skyline Conference opener for both teams.

With 5:05 left in a back-and-forth second half, Eduardo Huezo kicked off the decisive run with his only basket of the half, putting Manhattanville in front to stay at 58-57. After back-to-back Yeshiva turnovers led to a pair of Valiant buckets, senior John DiBetta put the game out of reach with a three-pointer from the right wing, giving the hosts a 65-57 lead with 2:54 to go.

Forcing turnovers was the theme of the night for Manhattanville, with a tenacious pressure defense creating 10 turnovers in the first half and nine more in the second. Donte Chisolm recorded four steals to lead the way for the Valiants.

“I thought we did a pretty good job most of the game, especially defensively,” Head Coach Pat Scanlon said. “They’re a very good team.”

After hitting only 3-of-15 three-pointers in the first half, Scanlon made one major adjustment in the locker room that helped his team to victory.

“We were much more aggressive in the second half, not settling as much for outside shots,” Scanlon said. “By attacking the rim we got to the free throw line more and we continued to play good defense.”

The Maccabees built a 33-28 lead by shooting 59.1% from the field in the first half despite strong defensive pressure. Ian Ribald took dead aim from three-point range, burying 4-of-6 first half triples, almost single-handedly keeping his team in front.

Ribald finished with a game-high 22 points and nine assists to lead the way for Yeshiva. Shuki Merlis added a double-double, 19 points and 10 rebounds, as the two combined for nearly 65% of the team’s scoring. The Maccabees shot 50% in the second half and passed out 23 assists despite the 19 turnovers.

Cody Moffett led the way for the Valiants, scoring 15 second half points after being plagued with foul trouble in the first half. The junior connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field and made 6-of-7 free throws en route to the 18 point night.

“Cody did a real nice job in the second half,” Scanlon said. “He’s our best player at getting to the basket and he did a great job of that.”

Off the bench, freshman DeVon Barnett was a major spark, playing 22 minutes and tallying a career-high 11 points, three more than the rookie had scored in the first four games of his career. Barnett also dished out five assists without a turnover and pulled down three offensive rebounds.

“I thought DeVon was terrific,” Scanlon said. “He hit some big shots and did a great job getting into the gaps in the Yeshiva zone.”

Brian Fink and Chisolm also finished in double-figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Fink knocked down three triples while Chisolm added six assists, no turnovers and four rebounds to his four-steal night.

The Valiants shot 48.3% from the field in the game but a scorching 66.7% (16-for-24) in the second half. Manhattanville also out-rebounded Yeshiva (1-3, 0-1 Skyline) 28-25 including a 9-3 edge on the offensive glass. The Valiants had 22 assists on 28 made baskets and committed only nine turnovers.

Manhattanville (4-1, 1-0 Skyline), winner of four straight, will be back on the court in three days, visiting Skyline rival Maritime Saturday at 2:00 p.m.