PURCHASE, N.Y. –  Senior guard Brian Salzillo (North Haven) extended his personal three-point field goal streak to 39 games, sinking five of nine attempts in leading four double-digit scorers when the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team defeated Catholic University, 76-70, Friday night in the opening round of the AJ Buchanan Invitational, hosted by Manhattanville College at Kennedy Gymnasium.

At right: Mike Garrow

Eastern (3-1) plays Saturday at 3 p.m. in the title game against either host Manhattanville (2-2), which routed Medgar Evers College, 94-73, in Friday's second first-round game. Catholic meets Medgar Evers in Saturday's 1 p.m. consolation game.

Salzillo, who is averaging 6.0 three-pointers in four games this year, shared team-high scoring honors with senior guard Mike Garrow (Terryville), both totaling 17 points. Garrow led Eastern with nine rebounds and also had five assists and Salzillo six rebounds and six assists.Sophomore guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Salzillo finished among the national leaders last year in both three-point field goals made per game and percentage.

Having played only 14 total minutes in two previous games, freshman forward Brandon Kuczenski (Naugatuck) came off the bench to chip in with his first collegiate points. Kuczenski had 11 points in 20 minutes, converting all five of his field goals  and also contributing two rebounds and an assist.

Eastern shot 51.7 percent from the floor and was 8-of-19 from three-point range and turned the ball over only 12 times. The Warriors moved out to a seven-point, 36-29 lead at halftime and matched the Cardinals' scoring after the break.

Coming off last year's 25-4 record and Landmark Conference championship,  former national champion Catholic (2-1) missed ten of 11 three-point field goals in the game and shot only 40.6 percent overall from the floor.

Junior forward Steve Limberiou entered play averaging 24.0 points for the Cards but was limited to nine points on 4-of-16 field goal shooting and eight rebounds in 37 minutes. Six-foot-eight inch junior center Jared Prince, who had managed only 14 points in his team's first two games, led Catholic with 25 points in 28 minutes off the bench. He was 10-of-15 from the floor and perfect on five free throws and also grabbed six rebounds.

While Prince led all reserves in the game, Eastern junior forward Brandon Yarborough (Stamford) complemented Kuczenski off the Eastern bench with nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes. Kuczenski and Yarborough combined for perfect shooting on nine field goal tries.

The meeting between the two programs was only the second ever, first since Catholic pinned a 74-62 loss on Eastern in the championship game of the Warriors' Brand-Rex Tip-Off Tournament in 1984.

Senior forward Jack Bramswig paced five double-digit scorers for Manhattanville against Medgar Evers with 25 points (11-of-15 from the floor), 13 rebounds (eight offensive) and three blocked shots. Bramswig is averaging 17.5 points and 8.8 rebounds with a 66.7 shooting percentage through four games.