Joseph Ayodele had eight points and 10 rebounds off the bench against Manhattanville. |
PURCHASE, N.Y. (January 13, 2007) – Junior guard Cody Moffett (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half as the Manhattanville College men’s basketball team overcame a 42-35 halftime deficit to post an 85-79 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Gym in Purchase, N.Y. The Valiants out-scored Stevens 50-37 in the second half and improved to 11-3 (4-1 Skyline Conference) with the win. The Ducks, who had their six-game win streak snapped, fell to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Tied at 30-all late in the first half, Stevens went on a 12-5 run over the final 3:34 to carry a seven-point lead into the locker room. Junior forward Joseph Ayodele (Tempe, Ariz.) scored four points in the spurt. Sophomore guard Virgil Gray II (Elmwood Park, N.J.) and junior guard Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y.) hit big three-pointers for the Ducks towards the end of the period.
With the Ducks trailing 69-65 in the closing minutes of the game, Farid knocked down a three-pointer to bring Stevens to within one point with 2:54 left on the clock. After falling behind by five (73-68), the Ducks responded once again as Gray drained a three-pointer to make the score 73-71 with 1:51 left.
Just 23 seconds later, Moffett answered right back with a huge three-pointer that keyed a 7-0 run for the Valiants. Manhattanville opened an 80-71 lead with 37 seconds to play as senior guard John DiBetta (Valhalla, N.Y.) made one of two free throws.
Gray led all scorers with 21 points – 13 of which came in the first half – on eight of 17 shooting from the floor. He also contributed four rebounds. Farid was 10-for-12 at the foul line and finished with 20 points. He added nine rebounds as well. Senior guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J.) posted nine assists, five points and three rebounds. Ayodele was 4-for-5 from the field. He had eight points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard George Greco (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) tallied eight points on 3-for-4 shooting.
DiBetta had 19 points and six rebounds for the Valiants. Junior guard Donte Chisolm (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) ended up with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Junior guard Brian Fink (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points and five assists.
Stevens will be home on Tuesday to host the College of Mount Saint Vincent at 7 p.m. That game will be carried live at www.duckcast.com.
