BRIDGEPORT, CONN. ? Junior guard Jonathan Han scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half leading Fairfield to a 83-71 victory over the Manhattan (11-17, 5-12) this evening in Bridgeport, Conn. Jaspers guard Chris Smith came up one point shy of a career-high finishing with 21 points on the night. With the loss, Manhattan secure the #8 seed for the 2008 MAAC Men's Basketball Championships in Albany, N.Y. next week.
Smith posted 16 points on 6-10 shooting in the first half to help Manhattan take a slight edge into the break. With just four seconds remaining in the first stanza, sophomore guard Darryl Crawford connected on a deep 3-pointer in front of the Fairfield (14-14; 11-6) bench sending the Jaspers into the locker room with a 32-29 advantage. Crawford finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes coming off the bench.
The teams exchanged buckets over the first 10 minutes of the second half and traded the lead four times. With 10:15 on the clock, Han knocked down a midrange jumper to even the score at 49-49 and spark a 10-0 run. Junior guard Herbie Allen capped off the scoring surge with a 3 at the 8:26 mark to give the Stags an eight point cushion.
Fairfield saw as large as a 15 point lead down the stretch and never looked back as it completed the season sweep of the Jaspers.
The Stags outrebounded Manhattan 36-29 on the evening. Fairfield dished out 19 assists, including Han's seven which marked a game-high.
Fairfield sophomore forward Anthony Johnson and Allen each finished with 15 points. Johnson slightly missed a double-double with a game high nine rebounds.
Devon Austin and Antoine Pearson also scored in double-figures for the Jaspers. Austin had 14 points, while Pearson added 11.
Pearson delivered an efficient shooting performance missing just one shot all night. He was 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line.
Manhattan returns to action on Sunday for its final game of the regular-season at Iona. The contest will be televised on MSG as part of the MAAC TV package. Tip off is set for noon.
