RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Sophomore guard Darryl Crawford exploded for a career-high 24 points leading the Manhattan men's basketball team to a 83-62 victory over Marist (15-11, 9-6) this evening at Draddy Gymnasium. Teammate Chris Smith posted his first career double-double in the winning effort.
“This was an exciting game for our team,” said head coach Barry Rohrssen. “Especially to play before a national audience.”
The Jaspers offense was clicking on all cylinders as four players finished in double figures for the second straight game. Crawford sparked the Jaspers attack with hot shooting off the bench. He was 7-10 (70.0%) on the floor and 9-14 (62.3%) from the free-throw line.
Manhattan (10-15, 4-11) held a 35-31 advantage at intermission.
The Jaspers entered the second half charged opening with a 25-8 run to bust open the contest. At the 9:22 mark, freshman forward Rashad Green slashed through the lane and connected on a layup to cap off the scoring surge. Manhattan possessed a 60-39 advantage with the bucket.
Red-shirt sophomore David Devezin helped Marist cut its deficit 62-54 at 5:54 posting seven of his nine second half points over three and a half minutes. Devezin was the only Red Fox to score in double figures finishing with 19 points on the night. He was 9-15 from the field.
Marist wouldn't get much closer as the Jaspers possessed the ball well down the stretch leading to its second consecutive victory at Draddy Gymnasium.
Manhattan's superb defensive efforts held the MAAC's top 3-point shooting team to 3-15 (20.0%) from beyond the arc. The Jaspers also prospered on 20 points off 16 forced turnovers.
Manhattan won the battle of the boards 32-23. Smith led the charge pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds to complement his 14 points.
Manhattan was 24-45 (53.3%) from the field and 7-15 (46.7%) from 3-point territory. Antoine Pearson finished with 15 points, while Green added 10.
The Jaspers return to action on Monday evening for its contest with Siena. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. in Riverdale. The game will be televised live on SportsNet New York (SNY).
