ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's basketball team defeated Manhattanville College 82-75 in a first round game of the ECAC Tournament on Wednesday night.
 
All five starters for the Knights tallied double-digits, led by Tony James with 23. James also grabbed 11 boards. Jalen Vaughns also notched a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. TJ Lewis netted 15 points. Ryan Starr notched 12 points and five assists. Justin Smith added 11 points and nine rebound.
 
The game started out with the teams going back and forth. Tied at five, James scored five straight points for a 10-5 Knights advantage. The Valiants answered with the next five points to tie the game at 10. After going back and forth again, Neumann built a 27-19 advantage, capped by a three-pointer by Starr. Manhattanville then went on a 13-5 run to tie the game at 32 with 4:16 on the clock. The Valiants continued the run with the next four points. The half finished like it started, back and forth. A free throw by Smith put Neumann up 39-38 at the break.
 
The second half started like the first. Tied at 45 with 16:36 on the clock, Neumann went on an 11-2 run to take a 56-47 lead. Midway through the half, Manhattanville tied the game again, this time at 63. With 3:08 left in regulation, two free-throws by Lewis gave the Knights a five-point advantage, 77-72. A layup by Vaughns with 1:13 left and two free throws by Starr with 55 seconds on the clock gave Neumann its largest lead of the game, 82-73. The Valiants finished the game with the final two free throws and the Knights came away with the 82-75 win.
 
Neumann (21-7) will face Alvernia in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 seeded game on Saturday afternoon in Alfred, N.Y. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 PM.