Nik Rao hit three straight 3-pointers to lead the Stevens rally |
PURCHASE, N.Y. – Junior John Danielski scored a game-high 20 points off the bench as Manhattanville College withstood a furious second half rally and held off Stevens Institute of Technology on Friday in a Skyline Conference men’s basketball game at Kennedy Gym.
Manhattanville (15-8/10-4 Skyline) held a 43-25 halftime advantage and extended its lead to as many as 26 points with 11:06 left in the second half. But Stevens mounted a frenetic comeback, using a 23-2 run in a span of six minutes to slash the deficit to five points. Trailing 59-33, freshman guard Floyd Morris (East Windsor, N.J./Peddie School) opened the Stevens run with a short jumper at the 10:53 mark. Senior guard Nik Rao (Franklin Park, N.J./Rutgers Prep) connected on three straight 3-pointers in a span of 1:14 to cut the lead to 61-49. Junior forward Omar McKinney (New York, N.Y./Lab School) followed with a layup and then a conventional 3-point play with 5:01 remaining to pull the Ducks within 61:56.
Danielski, who scored 10 of the Valiants’ final 14 points, slowed the momentum with a pair of free throws. His consecutive jumpers gave Manhattanville a 69-59 lead with 2:07 left.
Manhattanville started fast, scoring the first eight points of the game. Senior Steve Shevlin scored six of the Valiants’ first ten points. Stevens stayed close through the first five minutes as senior forward Eric Stanley (New York, N.Y./Solebury Prep) scored the Ducks’ first eight points. His layup with 14:50 left pulled Stevens within 12-8. But Manhattanville outscored Stevens 24-6 over the next eight minutes to open up a 22-point lead. Danielski had six, including a 3-pointer with 7:04 left that gave the Valiants a 36-14 lead.
Manhattanville shot 59.3 percent in the opening half, compared to just 36.7 percent for Stevens. The Valiants also went 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
Stanley led Stevens with 19 points and also pulled down six rebounds and came up with five steals. Rao finished with 14 points off the bench, including 4-for-9 from 3-point territory.
For Manhattanville, Danielski was joined in double figures by senior Pat Scanlon who added 18 points while Shevlin scored 26.
Stevens plays its final regular season home game on Monday, February 17, with an 8 p.m. Skyline Conference game against Yeshiva.
