Manhattanville Downs Men’s Basketball in Trinity Holiday Tourn. 3rd Place Match

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Hartford, Conn.| Despite a game-best 21 points (10-22 FG) from senior Andy Laurent the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was handed an 82-69 defeat by Manhattanville College in the third place match of the Trinity Holiday Tournament in Hartford, Conn. on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss the Golden Eagles slide to 1-9 on the year as the Valiants improve to 4-7.

After going up 13-12 following a Laurent layup at 12:13 of the first half SJC fell behind 26-19 at 8:30 after succumbing to a 13-7 Manhattanville run. The Golden Eagles responded with a 10-3 streak of their own to knot the game up at 29 with 5:34 to play and eventually took a 37-33 advantage into halftime.

The Valiants opened play in the second strongly with a 12-2 run to take a 45-39 lead 3:20 in the frame and managed to stay ahead for the remainder of the contest. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to three points (51-48) after a pair of converted free throws by junior Dan Brzozka at 12:11, but it would be the closest SJC came to trying the game and eventually fell by the score of 82-69.

Laurent's 21 points on the afternoon matched a season best which was established on December 10 at home vs. Saint Joseph's (ME).

Fellow senior Fernando Vazquez contributed 19 points and three assists, and junior Isaiah Moore went for 16 points on 8-12 shooting from the field.

SJC edged Manhattanville in points off turnovers (20-6) but could attribute its defeat to poor shooting from the field (46.8%) and beyond the arc (6.3%, 1-16).

The Golden Eagles return to action on Wednesday, January 4 when they visit St. Joseph's College (Brkln) in a Skyline Conference tilt at 7:00 PM. Live video and stats will both be available here.