Riverdale, N.Y. (January 19, 2008) ? The Men's Basketball team lost a close one to Rider University tonight at Draddy Gymnasium. Devon Austin and Antoine Pearson both shared a team high 17 points, while freshman Nick Walsh had a career high 15 points.
At the start of the game, Rider came out strong and had Manhattan facing a large deficit. But a jumper by freshman Laurence Jolicoeur sparked a 15-7 run for Manhattan. The Jaspers were now down three, 27-30 with just under two minutes to play in the half. Manhattan went into the locker room, down seven, 28-35 and looking for a way to come back. Pearson had eight points at the half as Manhattan needed to close in on their deficit.
In the second half, the Jaspers were down by 20 points with 10:15 left. They needed a spark in their offense and an answer for the Broncs attack. In the next seven minutes, Manhattan put together a 28-12 run to only trail by five, 75-79 with 3:01 left in the game. After a Pearson three pointer, the Jaspers had climbed all the way back and now trailed by two in the final minutes.
On the ensuing possession, Rider's Jason Thompson converted a three point play to increase the Broncs lead 82-78. But freshman Nick Walsh hit one of his three shots behind the arc to bring the Jaspers to within one. With the crowd supporting them, Manhattan needed a stop on defense for a chance to win the game. On Rider's next possession, Harris Mansell hit a three pointer that almost put the game out of the Jaspers' reach. A free throw by Patrick Bouli made it a one possession game, but Manhattan still trailed 82-85. A last second attempt fell short of the rim as Rider escaped with a victory.
Manhattan shot 52% from the floor as a team and 47% from the three point line. Austin grabbed four boards to go along with his team high 17 points. Walsh shot 5-8 from the field which included going 3-6 from behind the arc for his career high 15 points.
The Jaspers will return to action on Thursday, January 24 as they will play Rider University for a second consecutive time. The only team Manhattan has played twice consecutively in the regular season was Fairfield back in the 2003-04 season.
