#4 Manhattanville - 79, #1 Farmingdale State - 74
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Top-seeded Farmingdale State fell to #4 Manhattanville, 79-74, in the Skyline Conference Semifinals this evening in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Valiants have advanced to the Championship game and will play the winner of #7 Mount Saint Vincent and #3 Yeshiva.
With the Valiants (17-8) leading 13-12 just over five minutes in, Manhattanville went on an 8-1 run, behind six points from junior guard Tommy Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y.), to take a 21-13 advantage.
Farmingdale State (19-8) trailed 26-20 with 6:44 on the clock, and used a 7-0 run, capped off by a dunk from sophomore guard Nick Hurowitz (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), to take the lead, 27-26.
The Rams still led by one, 31-30, with just 1:30 remaining in the first half and forced three consecutive misses by the Valiants. With seven seconds left, Hurowitz knocked down a 3-pointer to give FSC a 34-30 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Hurowitz led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Farmingdale State opened the second half with back-to-back layups by sophomore guards Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) to increase their advantage to eight, 38-30.
After trading baskets, Manhattanville used a 3-pointer and a layup to cut their deficit to three, 40-37.
Following a 3-pointer by Davis, the Valiants went on a 9-2 run on three consecutive 3's by junior forward Jackson Leech (Chicago, Ill.) to go ahead, 46-45, with 13:40 to play.
Manhattanville led, 48-47, and used a pair of free-throws by Leech to take a three-point edge.
FSC responded with baskets from freshman guard Kobe Thomas (Hicksville, N.Y.), sophomore guard Zamere McKenzie (Beacon, N.Y.) and Powell in an 8-2 run, to regain the lead, 55-52, with eight minutes to play.
The Valiants quickly responded with a 3-pointer from Chris Maestre (Bronx, N.Y.) to knot the game at 55-55.
With the game still tied 57-57 with 6:13 left to play, the Valiants used a pair of layups to go in front, 61-57.
Following a jumper from Powell, Maestre knocked down a 3-pointer before another Manhattanville layup gave them a 66-59 lead with 3:25 remaining.
Just over a minute later, the Valiants held an eight-point advantage, 69-61, before a 3-pointer by senior guard Petey Galgano (New Rochelle, N.Y.) put Manhattanville ahead, 72-61.
Farmingdale State cut their deficit to eight, 77-69, with only 22 seconds on the clock and used a Powell layup and Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) three-point play to close within three, 77-74.
The Valiants were fouled with 12 seconds to play and hit 1-of-2 free-throws before forcing a miss by FSC on the other end of the floor.
Manhattanville added a free-throw with two seconds left as they earned the 79-74 victory.
Hurowitz finished with a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Santos recorded 14 points and six assists. Powell tallied 12 points, three rebounds and four assists, Davis notched 11 points, and senior forward Dominique Senat (Elmont, N.Y.) added 10 points and three boards.
For Manhattanville, Leech and Lotito led the way with 17 points apiece.
*****