News Release

Farmingdale, NY — The Farmingdale State men’s basketball team will be heading to the NCAA Tournament after they defeated Manhattanville 87-79 tonight in the Skyline Conference Championship game in Farmingdale, NY. This is the first-ever Skyline Championship for the Rams and the first NCAA appearance for the men’s basketball team. Senior guard Dashawn Warren (Astoria, NY/W.C. Bryant) was named the MVP tonight after tallying 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Manhattanville led the entire first half and by seven points at halftime, 40-33. They increased their lead to 14 early in the second, before a 21-7 run and a three-pointer by junior guard Terry Menefee (Mission, KS/Shawnee Mission North) gave the Rams a two-point lead with 7:15 remaining. A Donte Chisolm (Mt. Vernon, NY/St. Raymond’s) layup and Mike Benziger (Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley) jumper would give the Valiants their final lead of the game, but it was all Farmingdale for the next five minutes as they controlled the ball and sank three three-pointers for a seven point lead, forcing Manhattanville to foul.

Senior forward Kenny McMillan (Bronx, NY/All Hallows) finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Rams. Kenny is two rebounds away from a total 1,000 career rebounds. Menefee scored 16 points and had four steals. Senior guard MD Mazique (Bronx, NY/Taft) was the fourth for Farmingdale in double figures with 13 points.

Benziger led the Valiants with a game-high 27 points (5-of-11 from behind the arc). Junior guard John DiBetta (Valhalla, NY/Valhalla) was second in scoring with 16 points and eight boards. Sophomore guard Brian Fink (Queens, NY/St. Francis Prep) finished with 14 points and junior guard Cody Moffett (Brooklyn, NY/Edgemont) had 11 points.

The NCAA Division III Tournament pairings will be announced Monday morning on the NCAA website, www.ncaasports.com.

Newspaper Box Score
Manhattanville College vs Farmingdale State
02/25/06 7:00pm at Farmingdale, NY (Lynch Sports Center)
At Farmingdale, NY (Lynch Sports Center)
FARMINGDALE STATE 87, MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE 79
MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE (19-9)
Mike Benziger 10-17 2-2 27; John DiBetta 4-7 8-8 16; Brian Fink 4-11 3-4 14;
Cody Moffett 4-9 3-4 11; Donte Chisolm 2-9 1-2 5; Jerry Fiefie 2-3 0-2 4;
Justin Morris 1-5 0-0 2; Jason Walsh 0-1 0-0 0; Eduardo Huezo 0-0 0-0 0;
Brendan Flynn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 17-22 79.
FARMINGDALE STATE (22-5)
Warren, Dashawn 6-15 6-8 23; McMillan, Kenny 6-12 7-13 19; Menefee, Terry
5-7 5-7 16; Mazique, MD 3-6 4-4 13; Lipka, Peter 2-5 0-0 6; Santana, Daimien
1-9 1-2 3; McAllister, Warren 1-3 0-2 3; Robinson, Brian 1-1 0-0 2; McCabe,
Sean 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-62 23-36 87.
Manhattanville College........   40   39  -   79
Farmingdale State.............   33   54  -   87
3-point goals-Manhattanville College 8-28 (Mike Benziger 5-11; Brian Fink
3-7; Cody Moffett 0-1; Donte Chisolm 0-6; Justin Morris 0-3), Farmingdale
State 12-26 (Warren, Dashawn 5-9; Mazique, MD 3-4; Lipka, Peter 2-5;
Menefee, Terry 1-2; McAllister, Warren 1-2; Santana, Daimien 0-4). Fouled
out--Manhattanville College-None, Farmingdale State-McAllister, Warren.
Rebounds-Manhattanville College 43 (Jerry Fiefie 9), Farmingdale State 40
(McMillan, Kenny 11). Assists-Manhattanville College 8 (John DiBetta 3;
Brian Fink 3), Farmingdale State 18 (Warren, Dashawn 4). Total
fouls-Manhattanville College 24, Farmingdale State 22. A-425
Skyline Conference Championship. Rams win first-ever Skyline Championship and advance to NCAA Tournament with automatic bid.