Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Manhattan men's basketball team didn't have an answer for Peacocks' guard Wesley Jenkins who scored 22 points with six 3-pointers as the Jaspers fell 66-49 at Saint Peter's (4-4, 2-0 MAAC) on Saturday. Manhattan (2-6, 0-2 MAAC) was led by Nick Walsh who poured in a team-high 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Manhattan led by as many as four points in the first half, thanks in part to Walsh's sharpshooting. The senior guard from the Bronx had the hot hand knocking down his first five shots, which included three 3-pointers.
Walsh scored all the Jaspers points during an 8-0 run in the first half to lift Manhattan to its first lead of the contest. He used a dazzling pump fake and spin move to get open and bury a 3-pointer at 11:52, pushing the Jaspers out to a 15-11 lead.
Manhattan did not trail the rest of the first half, until the 39 second mark when Saint Peter's junior forward Jeron Belin drained a 3-pointer to go ahead 29-26. Peacocks' sophomore guard Steven Samuels converted a fast break layup with one second before intermission to give Saint Peter's a 31-26 advantage at the half.
Belin finished with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting and Samuels added seven more.
Saint Peter's broke the game open with a 22-9 run out of halftime to take a 53-35 advantage with 8:07 left in the contest. The surge featured two 3s from Jenkins and five points from senior forward Ryan Bacon.
Bacon had seven points and a game-high seven rebounds. Darius Conley added 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and he grabbed five rebounds for the Peacocks.
Manhattan freshman point guard Michael Alvarado was the only other Jasper besides Walsh to post double-figures. He recorded 10 points and pulled down five rebounds. Classmate Rhamel Brown collected seven rebounds and blocked a career-high five shots.
Saint Peter's outscored Manhattan 26-10 in the paint and got 18 points off 13 turnovers. The Jaspers struggled shooting the ball finishing 34.1% (15-44) from the field to the Peacocks 43.1% (25-58) mark. Saint Peter's hit 9-of-18 (50%) 3-point field goals.
Manhattan looks to bounce back on Wednesday when the Jaspers travel across the Bronx to Rose Hill Gymnasium to face Fordham. The 103rd "Battle of the Bronx" tips off at 7 p.m.
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