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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland) scored a game-high 22 points while pulling down nine rebounds to lift Manhattan to a 71-64 win over Monmouth at Draddy Gymnasium.
Over his last six games, Pankey has notched at least 18 points on five occasions and is averaging 17.2 points per game during that time while shooting 58.5 percent from the floor and 75.9 percent from the line.
With the victory, the Jaspers improve to 9-10 and 6-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while the Hawks fall to 11-10 and 7-3 in the league.
Pankey's went 6-of-9 from the floor and 10-of-14 in notching his second career 20-point performance while falling one point short of his career-high set earlier this season at Fairfield. He was complimented by an impressive shooting effort that saw seven different players convert from long range as Manhattan made good on a season-high 11 three pointers.
The Jaspers jumped out to an early 16-7 lead at the 12:35 mark of the first half thanks to an 10-2 run that was keyed by the second unit.
Sophomore Rich Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Vermont Academy (Vt.)) got the spurt started with a fast break layup before freshmen Calvin Crawford (Middletown, Conn. / St. Thomas More (Conn.)) hit a three pointer. After Monmouth briefly quelled the run with a Brice Kofane dunk, Crawford converted a layup before freshman Zane Waterman (Winston Salem, N.C. / Fayetteville Academy) canned a triple of his own.
Later in the half with Manhattan now clinging to a 26-18 advantage following a Pankey dunk, Deon Jones took over and scored the next seven points to draw the Hawks to 26-25 with 5:15 to play until halftime.
With the lead still at one with 1:56 to play until the break, junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) hit a three pointer to spark a half-ending 8-2 run that was punctuated by five points from Pankey as the Jaspers opened up a 40-33 lead at intermission.
After halftime, Monmouth used a quick 16-7 run to take its first lead of the game at 49-47 with 13:44 to play in the game. On the ensuing possession, senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, N.Y. / Robinson School (N.J.)) hit the first of his two three pointers to reclaim the lead for Manhattan while sparking a 7-1 run that put the Jaspers up 54-50 at the 8:49 mark.
The visitors quickly answered with six-straight points to take a two-point lead before Manhattan scored the next four markers. Jones then sank a pair from the line in notching the fourth and final tie of the afternoon at 58-58 with 5:04 to play.
Over the final five minutes it was the Pankey show. The Maryland transfer broke the deadlock with a layup with the shot clock winding down before converting a three-point play after stealing the ball in extending the Jasper lead out to 63-58 with 4:09 remaining. After Robinson briefly answered with a pair from the line, Pankey converted another layup to make it 65-60 with less than two minutes to go.
Trailing by four with 25 seconds to play, Monmouth had one last chance to again make it a one-possession game but was denied when senior Emmy Andujar (Bronx, N.Y. / Rice) grabbed an errant Jones shot. Andujar sank the ensuing free throws before Pankey capped his 22-point day with one more freebie to provide the final 71-64 score.
Manhattan, which improved to 7-0 when leading at the half, shot 48.0 percent (24-for-50) from the floor, including 45.8 percent (11-for-24) from long range, while winning the rebounding battle (33-29) and handing out 19 assists, against just 12 turnovers.
Despite failing to hit for double-figures, Andujar had nine points while matching Pankey with a game-high nine rebounds and handing out five assists. Prior to the game, the Bronx product was honored for becoming the 36th member of the Jasper 1,000-point club in a ceremony with Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Noah D. LeFevre and head coach Steve Masiello.
Williams led the second unit, which outscored the Hawk reserves 23-15, with seven points while sophomore Tyler Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) handed out six assists, against one turnover, in 18 minutes off the bench.
Jones scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half while Robinson had 14 points and five assists to pace Monmouth.
Manhattan will look to make it two in a row when it hosts Siena on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
