York Falls to Manhattanville in Defensive Contest
Box Score
JAMAICA, NY— In a game where points were at a premium, the York College men's basketball team came up a little short, falling to Manhattanville College, 53-50, in a non-conference contest Thursday evening.
The game was sloppily played on both sides, with both teams struggling in the turnover department and at the free throw line. York committed 26 turnovers and shot just 38 percent from the free throw line, while Manhattanvile gave the ball away 17 times and shot 50 percent from the charity stripe. Free throws particularly haunted York down the stretch as they went just 2-11 from the line in the second half.
The game was close throughout the entire game. Manhattanville briefly held an eight-point advantage midway through the first half, but for the most part, the lead was separated by two scores on either side. The Valiants led throughout most of the first half but York came on strong at the end, closing the half with a 9-2 run to take a 29-28 advantage. Shamir Wilkinson led the charge for York, scoring 12 first-half points.
The game continued to be tight in the second half, with each team going back and forth. With just under two minutes remaining, York trailed by four points (49-45) when David Simon drained a three-pointer to cut the lead to one point. After a made free throw by the Valiants with 30 seconds to play, Simon dribbled up court and attempted another three-pointer but was off the mark this time. With the shot clock off, York was forced to foul and sent Manhattanville's Lamar Glass to the line. Although the Valiants struggled from the line during the game, Glass was able to come through when it counted most, making both free throws to put his team up by four points.
York's Steven Arzu was able to make a quick lay-up to cut the lead to two points (52-50) with just four seconds left. Another foul sent the Valiants to the line where Peter Mehmel made one of two shots to put them back up by three points. With just 2 seconds remaining, York was unable to get a potential game-tying shot off.
Despite the loss, York's Marcel Esonwune recorded his Division III-leading 11th double-double, scoring 15 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and also blocking four shots. Wilkinson finished with 14 points and Simon paced York with nine. The Valiants were led by Trevoy Pointer who netted 12 points. Manhattanville improves to 9-1 with the win, while York drops to 3-9.
The Cardinals will return to action on Wednesday, January 5th when they host Brooklyn College at 8:00 p.m. in a rematch of last year's CUNY Athletic Conference championship game.
