New Rochelle, N.Y. (January 6, 2005)- Sophomore
Arturo Dubois celebrated his 20th birthday in style, tallying a team-high 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double, as Manhattan extended its winning streak to seven with a wire-to-wire, 87-68, win over MAAC and local rival Iona tonight at the Hynes Center on the Iona campus. With the win, the Jaspers improve to 7-4, 3-0 in MAAC play, while the Gaels fall to 8-3, 2-1 in MAAC play.
The two teams exchanged baskets to open the game, and Manhattan led by eight, 18-10, before Iona used an 11-4 run to close to within one, 22-21, with 9:40 left in the opening stanza. The Jaspers were able to push the lead back to seven, 28-21, with a 6-0 run of their own, but the Gaels whittled away at the lead, closing to within one point on a Ricky Soliver layup with two seconds left to go into the break with Manhattan holding a 37-36 lead.
Manhattan opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt, capped by a Dubois layup to take a nine point lead, 45-36, with 17:08 remaining. Iona was able to close the gap to five, 55-50, on a Gary Springer layup with 12:23 left, but the Jaspers pushed the lead back to 10, and led by as many as 21 on the way to the win, as Manhattan outscored Iona, 50-32, in the second half.
Joining Dubois in double-figures were
Jeff Xavier (20 points, six boards, five assists, and three steals),
CJ Anderson (19 points, seven assists, six rebounds), and
Jason Wingate (12 points).
Soliver led all scorers with 26 points.
Manhattan gets right back to action, hosting Saint Peter's on Sunday, January 8. Game time is slated for 2:00 p.m. with the game being televised on RNN.
