PURCHASE, N.Y. - Junior Nick Boyce (Jamaica, N.Y.) had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the visiting Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 72-58 win over the Manhattanville College Valiants in men's basketball action this evening at Kennedy Gymnasium.  WestConn evens its season mark at 1-1 and the Valiants drop to 0-2.  The Wolves will play Amherst College next in the opening round of the Ted Coghlin Memorial Tournament at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Wolves opened the night with back-to-back threes from sophomore guard C.J. Riley (Yonkers, N.Y.), who finished with 13 points, and the early lead for the visitors peaked at a seven-point advantage through the opening four minutes. The Valiants used a 15-2 run to go up 16-10 with 12 minutes to play in the half.  Moments later, Boyce scored eight points in a row to give WestConn a 19-18 lead. It was the first of seven lead changes in the ensuing four minutes, ending with the Wolves taking a 26-25 lead on a Riley jumper. WestConn scored nine straight points to force a Valiant timeout with 2:43 left in the half but an eight-point Valiant run tied things up at 33-33. Boyce delivered one last basket before the half, giving the Wolves a narrow two-point lead through 20 minutes.

The offenses were slowed early in the second half, before Wolves senior Cameron Gallon (York, Pa.) scored on a layup to ignite a 14-6 WestConn run and give the visitors a 53-45 lead with nine minutes to play.  The Valiants fought back, scoring 11 of the following 14 points to even things up once again on a three-pointer by Ben Merritt. However, WestConn stood right back up after watching the lead disappear by scoring 16 of the final 18 points in the closing minutes to head home to Danbury victorious.  Senior forward Jourdan Belcher (Elmsford, N.Y.) scored eight of his 12 points down the stretch for the Wolves.