PURCHASE, N.Y. – Freshman guard Rich Riss sank two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to lift Manhattanville College to a 65-64 win over Stevens Institute of Technology in the quarterfinals of the Skyline Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at Kennedy Gym.
Fourth-seeded Manhattanville (16-10) will play the winner of a quarterfinal game between top-seeded Farmingdale State and eighth-seeded Mount Saint Vincent. Stevens ends its season at 13-13.
Trailing 64-63 in the final minute, Manhattanville got the ball back following a Stevens miss with 30 seconds left. The Valiants worked the clock down under 10 seconds before sophomore John DiBetta attempted a 3-pointer. DiBetta’s shot was no good, but on the scramble for the rebound under the Manhattanville basket, Stevens junior Isaac Moore was whistled for a loose-ball foul, sending Riss to the line with just 3.7 seconds left. Riss, who scored 12 points off the bench, calmly drained both free throws to give the Valiants only their second lead of the game, 65-64. Stevens’ desperation shot at the buzzer came up short.
Stevens, which scored the first five points of the game, held the lead for virtually 37 minutes. The Ducks led for the entire first half en route to a 35-28 halftime lead. Stevens led by 10 points on four occasions early in the second half - the last coming on a jumper by sophomore forward Kevin Riley (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavier) that put the Ducks ahead 48-38 with 15:08 remaining.
Manhattanville trailed 60-55 with 5:02 left following a jumper by Stevens freshman Waleed Farid (Woodside, N.Y./Stuyvesant). The Valiants used a 6-0 run in a span of 2:38 to take their first lead of the game. Two free throws by freshman guard Donte Chisolm, a jumper by junior guard Mike Benziger and a jumper by freshman guard Brian Fink gave Manhattanville its first lead of the game, 61-60 with 2:24 remaining.
Stevens countered with baskets by Moore and Riley to go back up by three, 64-61 with just 1:02 remaining. DiBetta cut the lead to one with a pair of free throws with 50 seconds remaining. Riss then came up with a key blocked shot and a rebound to set up the Valiants’ final possession with 30 seconds left.
Stevens held a 41-35 rebounding advantage and committed only ten turnovers. But Manhattanville had a big advantage at the free-throw line, going 21-for-27 from the stripe (77.8 percent). Stevens shot 85.7 percent from the line, making 12 of its 14 attempts.
For Stevens, Riley scored a season-high 18 points off the bench while Farid added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Moore also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Benziger led all scorers with 19 points for Manhattanville. Chisolm added 14 points.
