News Release

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Sophomore John DiBetta (Valhalla, N.Y.) scored a game-high 24 points and went 4-for-6 from three-point range in the Manhattanville Valiants 87-81 win over the Mount Saint Mary Blue Knights.

Freshman Donte Chisolm (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) dished out 13 assists to go with 17 points, while freshman Brian Fink (Queens, N.Y.) added 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting to help Manhattanville improve to 7-2 at Kennedy Gym this year. The Valiants improve to 12-10 overall and 6-6 in the Skyline Conference.

For Mount Saint Mary, sophomore Mike Hoyt (Florida, N.Y.) scored 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with seven assists and five boards. Senior Kenny Lane (East Meadow, N.Y.) added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Blue Knights drop to 12-10 overall and 10-4 in the Skyline Conference.

After Manhattanville led by seven with 4:17 to go in the second half, the Blue Knights went on an 11-4 run to cut the deficit to 83-81 with 1:24 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Hoyt’s fade-away jumper was blocked by Manhattanville junior Jerry Fiefie (Stamford, Conn.) and picked up by Fink. The Valiants converted their next four free-throws to pick up the win. Fiefie finished with 10 points and nine assists.

In the first half, Manhattanville led by three thanks to 11 points from junior Mike Benziger (Sonoma, Calif.). He got into foul trouble, but finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-fo-6 from beyond the arc.

Mount Saint Mary came back in the second half to take a two-point lead off a pair of free throws from Lane. Both teams traded baskets and evened the score at 67-67 with 7:38 to go.

That’s when Manhattanville went on a 10-3 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers by DiBetta and two field goals from Fink. Chisolm assisted on all of four of the baskets.

Defensively, Manhattanville allowed the Blue Knights to shoot 51 percent from the field, but controlled the glass with a 37-32 edge in rebounding. The Valiants shot 48 percent from the floor and 58 percent from three-point range.

DiBetta shot 8-fo-15 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to go with nine rebounds. Freshman Mike Panella (Flushing, N.Y.) led the Valiants off the bench with four rebounds and four points.

Manhattanville’s next game will take place at home on Saturday against the Stevens Ducks starting at 3 p.m.