Box Score Box Score | Highlight: Rhamel Brown's Game-Saving Block
Audio Replay: Men's Basketball at Niagara
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - Rhamel Brown scored a season-high 22 points and blocked six shots, none bigger than his emphatic block as time expired on Rayvon Harris's driving layup. The monster block sealed a thrilling 78-77 victory for the Jaspers over Niagara, helping Manhattan improve its record to 17-6 and 10-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
For the second consecutive game, Manhattan jumped out to an early double-digit advantage, scoring the first 10 points of the game. The Jaspers led 16-5 after Donovan Kates fed Brown for a layup underneath at the 14:42 mark before Niagara rallied.
Antoine Mason, the nation's leading scorer, scored eight straight points for the Purple Eagles, helping cut Manhattan's lead to 18-15. The Jaspers then went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, capped by a George Beamon jumper to extend their lead to 28-15.
Mason led another Niagara rally that made it a 31-30 game with five minutes to play. The Jaspers held on to a 39-37 lead at halftime.
After Niagara took a brief lead early in the second half, the Jaspers rallied to go back in front, 50-45 after six straight points by RaShawn Stores and a Beamon layup. The Purple Eagles came back to even the score and took their biggest lead of the game, 63-58 on a three-pointer by Wesley Myers just under the 10-minute mark.
After a Manhattan timeout, Michael Alvarado found Brown for a beautiful alley-oop dunk to silence the crowd and give the Jaspers a needed basket. Manhattan eventually tied the game at 67-67 with 7:20 to play on consecutive conventional three-point plays by Alvarado and Beamon.
Trailing by four with three minutes to play, Manhattan made it a 75-73 game on two Beamon free throws. After a defensive stop, Beamon drove the lane and banked one home to tie the score at 75 with 2:25 left in the game. Manhattan got another stop and Emmy Andujar found Brown in traffic under the hoop for a basket that gave the Jaspers a 77-75 edge.
With the Jaspers clinging to a 78-77 lead with 6.6 seconds remaining, Niagara called its final timeout to set up a final play. The Jaspers denied Mason the ball on the inbounds, forcing Harris to drive the lane with the clock winding down. Harris appeared to have a lane to drive but Brown guarded him at the three-point line, followed him down the left side and swatted away his attempted layup as the rebound caromed to Andujar, preserving Manhattan's one-point victory.
"I was really proud of our guys coming in this weekend and today gut out a really tough victory against a very scrappy team and a prolific scorer in Mason," head coach Steve Masiello said after the game. "[Brown] basically took the game over and made some monster plays, and that's why he's one of the best big men in the country, bar none."
Brown finished with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He added six rebounds and six blocked shots. Beamon added 20 points and three steals, while Stores finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Mason had 33 points and eight rebounds to lead Niagara.
The Jaspers are back in action on Thursday, February 13 at Rider for a 7 p.m. contest.
NOTES:
The win was Manhattan's 1300th win in program history ... Manhattan has swept the Buffalo trip twice in the last three seasons ... the Jaspers had not completed the Canisius/Niagara road sweep since the 2003-04 season ... the win was Manhattan's 10th road victory this season, tying Stephen F. Austin for most road wins among Division I teams ... Rhamel Brown has blocked at least four shots 12 times this season ... Brown now has 333 career blocked shots, which is the most career blocks among active Division I players ... Emmy Andujar finished with seven points, six assists and just one turnover ... Ashton Pankey added seven points and seven rebounds ... Manhattan shot 49 percent from the field ... the Jaspers had 13 steals on 25 Niagara turnovers ... Manhattan led for 101 minutes and 16 seconds over its previous three games before Niagara took a 41-40 lead at the 18:44 mark of the second half ... the Jaspers never trailed in their previous two wins against Saint Peter's and Canisius ... the score was tied nine times in the game and there were six lead changes.
