The Misericordia University men's basketball team opened its MAC Freedom schedule with an impressive 83-54 win over Manhattanville, Wednesday night in the Anderson Center.

Tony Harding had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Kenny added a team-high 15 points.  Tre Fields had 11 points and Jake Szczecina and Stone McCreary both had eight points as 13 different players scored for the Cougars.

The Cougars trailed 9-8 in the opening minutes, but went on a 13-4 run to take a 21-13 lead.

Griffin Sponaugle drained a step back three-pointer from the left wing to put the Cougars in front.  Kenny followed with a put back and then found Stone McCreary for a three-pointer and a 16-9 lead. 

MU added a 12-0 run, including three-pointers from Sponaugle and Fields, to stretch the lead to 33-16 with 3:14 left in the first half.

Fields drilled a pull-up three-pointer and Sponaugle buried a three from the left corner during an 8-0 spurt that gave the Cougars a 41-18 lead late in the first half.

The Valiants opened the second half with a 10-0 run and cut MU's lead to 45-35 less than three minutes into the second half, but the Cougars responded with a 14-1 spurt to put the game away.

Alec Rodway found McCreary for a three-point and followed with two driving layups for a 54-36 lead with 14:05 to go.

The Cougars improved to 10-2 and will visit FDU-Florham, Saturday.