Jersey City, N.J. (January 15, 2007)- Arturo Dubois followed up a career-high 31 points against Iona with his first double-double of the season, tallying game-highs of 27 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds to lead Manhattan to its fifth straight win, a 71-66 MAAC win over Saint Peter's this afternoon at the Yanitelli Center on the Peacock's campus. The win evens the Jaspers' record at 8-8 overall, and 5-1 in MAAC play, while Saint Peter's falls to 3-14, 1-6 in MAAC play.
Playing without leading scorer Devon Austin, who missed the game due to illness, the Jaspers and Peacocks traded baskets over the first five minutes of the game, with a Dubois layup with 15:20 left in the first half evening the score at 9-9. At that point,
Manhattan would gradually extend the lead in the second half, increasing the lead to as many as 14 points on two occasions, the second making the score 48-34 following a Guy Ngarndi basket with 14:42 left in the game. Saint Peter's would not go quietly, chipping away at the lead until a Sowell three-point play with 3:12 remaining cut the lead to just three points, 64-61. The Peacocks would get no closer the rest of the way, and two Antoine Pearson free throws with 21 seconds left iced the game for
Dubois added three assists, three steals, and two blocks to his total, and was joined in double figured by Pearson (14 points and season-highs with six assists and five steals) and Darryl Crawford (10 points).
Orta paced for Peacocks in double figures with 16 points, as Manhattan tallied a season-high 16 steals to go along with a season-low 11 turnovers, while forcing 21 Saint Peter's turnovers.
The game concluded a stretch that saw