Box Score
Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Manhattan led from start to finish to earn its seventh consecutive victory and its third straight to begin MAAC play in a 74-62 win at Saint Peter's on Thursday.
Manhattan led 29-18 with 4:22 left in the first half before Saint Peter's cut the Jsapers' lead to 30-25 at halftime. The Jaspers held the Peacocks to 31.8% percent shooting for the half but Saint Peter's made 10 of its 13 free throws to stay close.
The Jaspers began the second half by outscoring Saint Peter's 8-1, taking a 38-26 lead when Rhamel Brown caught the ball in the high post and made a nifty bounce pass to Rich Williams on the baseline for a dunk.
The Peacocks rallied to cut the Jaspers' lead to 40-37 at the 12:13 mark. Shane Richards then stepped up to hit a critical corner three to push Manhattan's lead back to 43-37. That ignited a fast 11-2 run over the next 1:17 that gave the Jaspers a 51-39 lead with 9:52 to play.
Saint Peter's got as close as 67-60 on a Tyler Gaskins layup with 1:36 to play, but the Jaspers made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Michael Alvarado scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, including 9-of-12 from the foul line. George Beamon made all 14 of his free throws and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season and his ninth 20+ point scoring performance in Manhattan's first 12 games.
“It's always good to get a win after an 11-day layoff,” head coach Steve Masiello said after the game. “I thought our defensive mindset was the key.” The Jaspers held the Peacocks to 14 of 47 from the field, or 29.8 percent shooting.
Now 10-2 and 3-0 in the MAAC, Manhattan will return to action at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday, January 4 at 7 p.m. vs. Fairfield.
NOTES:
Manhattan is now 9-0 in road/neutral games this season … that record is the best in the country … the Jaspers' eight true road victories are three more than any other team in the nation … Manhattan's seven-game win streak is its longest since the Jaspers won eight straight games during the 2011-12 campaign ... the Jaspers have scored more than 70 points in 11 of their 12 games this season .... George Beamon's 14 free throws gave him 432 for his career, which rank third on Manhattan's career charts ... Manhattan outrebounded Saint Peter's 38-31 … the Jaspers had 11 steals, continuing a streak of six double-digit steal efforts … Rhamel Brown had four blocks for the second straight game … he is averaging 4.17 blocks per game and has swatted at least two shots in every Manhattan game this season … Brown is also six rebounds shy of 700 for his career ... he ranks 10th all-time at Manhattan in career boards ... Michael Alvarado now has 280 assists in his career and moved past Kenny Minor '06 into 10th place on Manhattan's all-time list ... the game was moved up to a 5 p.m. start due to the impending snowstorm that hit the New York metropolitan area on Thursday evening.
