Box Score
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Manhattan men's basketball team dropped its regular-season finale falling 66-59 at Niagara (9-22, 5-13 MAAC) on Sunday afternoon. Jaspers' sophomore guard George Beamon led Manhattan in scoring for the 18th time this season with a game-high 18 points. Senior guard Anthony Nelson anchored the Purple Eagles effort on Senior Day with 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Manhattan (6-24, 3-15 MAAC) rolled out to its largest lead of the ballgame early in the first half when the Jaspers rallied off seven straight points to take a 16-9 advantage at the 9:56 mark on a pair of Beamon free-throws. Beamon shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the contest and converted all 20 free-throw attempts in the last two games.
Nelson found his shooting touch midway through the first half to give the Purple Eagles' offense a boost. He scored seven of Niagara's 10 points over a three minute span to regain a lead the Purple Eagles would not relinquish. Nelson capped the surge with a layup at 4:57 to send Niagara ahead 25-22.
Niagara led by as many as seven points in the first half, despite 10 points from Beamon. Jaspers' freshman point guard Michael Alvarado scored nine of his 15 points in the opening stanza as the Manhattan entered the break trailing 34-28.
The Jaspers showed some energy in the second half using a 3-pointer from junior guard Kidani Brutus and a layup from Beamon to pull within 37-35 with 17:57 remaining. Although, Manhattan could not get any closer as the Jaspers cut Niagara's lead to two points three more times, before Purple Eagles freshman guard Marvin Jordan buried back-to-back 3-pointers. Jordan's second trey came with 9:26 remaining to give Niagara a 49-41 advantage.
Jordan hit his fourth 3-pointer of the contest at the 3:57 mark giving Niagara a 58-51 cushion. The Purple Eagles knocked down all eight of their free-throws in the final minute, capping a 23-for-27 (85.2%) effort from the charity stripe. Jordan was Niagara's top scorer as he matched Beamon's 18 points.
Brutus popped three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for Manhattan. Jaspers' graduate student Demetrius Jemison scored six points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Manhattan outshot Niagara going 46% (23-50) from the field in the contest. The Jaspers shot 52.2% (12-23) in the second half.
Manhattan enters the 2011 MAAC Basketball Championships as the #10 seed and will face #7 Siena in the tournament's First Round on Friday at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. The contest will be the second game of the night session with tip-off scheduled for 9:30 p.m. For more information on the 2011 MAAC Tournament click here.
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