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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Behind a suffocating second-half defense and 23 second-half points from George Beamon, second-seeded Manhattan advanced to Monday's MAAC championship game with an 87-68 win over Quinnipiac in the conference semifinals on Sunday night.
On Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, the Jaspers will face top-seeded Iona in the MAAC championship game for the second straight season. Last season, the Gaels gained the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 60-57 win.
The Jsapers jumped out to a lightning-fast 11-1 lead behind six points from Rhamel Brown and five from Michael Alvarado in the first three minutes of the contest. Quinnipiac came back with a 10-0 run to tie the score, setting the stage for a back-and-forth first half that featured nine ties and seven lead changes. The two teams went into halftime tied at 40.
To start the second half, George Beamon jumped a passing lane and went coast to coast for a layup to spark a tremendous second half. Beamon scored seven points in a one-minute span early in the second half that pushed the Jaspers' advantage to 51-43. He ultimately scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, Emmy Andujar got to the basket at will, converting 7-of-12 from the field while making all seven of his free throws to finish with 21 points and six rebounds off the bench. Brown narrowly missed his second straight double-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
"I thought the semifinals today were terrific basketball," head coach Steve Masiello said after the game. "Tonight we were very fortunate to come out and get a great win against a terrific team in Quinnipiac. I thought we did a good job of forcing pace. I thought we got the game on our terms."
Ike Azotam had 18 points and 10 boards to lead Quinnipiac.
NOTES:
Manhattan improved its record to 24-7 ... the Jaspers have won 10 of their last 11 games since February 4 ... Manhattan has a 15-4 record in road/neutral site games ... the 15 wins are two behind second-ranked Wichita State, which has won 17 games away from home ... the Jaspers defeated the Gaels 10 days ago at Draddy Gymnasium in a thrilling 80-77 overtime victory that was televised on ESPN2 ... Emmy Andujar, who scored a career-high 28 points in that game, is averaging 15.2 points per game over the last six contests ... George Beamon has scored 20+ points in 17 of 28 games this season ... Michael Alvarado finished with seven points, four assists and one turnover ... Shane Richards dished out a career-high four assists ... Manhattan made 16 of 20 from the foul line ... the Jaspers shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent for the game ... Manhattan held Quinnipiac to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half.
