Box Score Sophomore Aaron White (North Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half for The College at Brockport Men's Basketball team as the Golden Eagles built a eight-point lead in the second half but Manhattanville chipped away at the lead and hit a layup as time expired to escape with a 56-54 victory Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference game in Kennedy Gymnasium in Purchase, NY.
Brockport (1-3) trailed by three at halftime, 28-25 but took off on a 9-0 run to start the second half taking a 34-38 lead. After a White layup at 13:19 gave Brockport a seven-point advantage, Manhattanville (2-4) scored the next five points trimming the lead to just a basket two minutes later.
White sparked another Brockport rally with a 3-point shot at the 6:05 mark to boost the Golden Eagle lead back to eight points at 48-40.
The teams traded 3-pointers with freshman David Clark III (Syracuse, NY/Green Tech.) nailing a long range shot as Brockport continued to lead by eight at 51-43 with 5:05 left to play.
The Valiants chipped away at the lead and trailed by two points at 52-50 with 3:12 on the clock.
White hit a layup to cap a fast break with 2:28 left giving Brockport a four-point advantage before Manhattanville hit four straight free throws to tie the game at 54-54 with 1:12 remaining.
Each team missed shots down the stretch and Manhattanville forced a turnover near midcourt with just 2.7 seconds to play.
The Valiants called a time out and drew up an inbounds play as the pass came in with a long pass into the paint and Manhattanville hit a layup as time expired to win the game.
White's 15 points led Brockport while fellow sophomore Clifton Lyerly (Inwood, NY/Lawrence) chipped in 14 points and also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds. Clark, Olusola Adeniran (Elmont, NY/Sewanhaka) and Mike Gallagher (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) each scored seven points with Clark and Adeniran each grabbing five rebounds.
Next up for Brockport will be the Wendy's College Classic Tournament starting Wednesday, December 3 as Brockport hosts a first round set of games at 6 and 8 pm with the Golden Eagles playing at 8 pm. The matchups for the tournament will be announced Sunday, November 30 at the annual pre-tournament dinner and Wendy's College Classic all of Fame induction dinner.
