Men's Basketball 3/9/2015 3:05:00 AM Manhattan Athletic Department

Manhattan Advances To Monday Night's MAAC Final

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ALBANY, N.Y. - Manhattan used a 14-2 run that bridged the end of the first and the beginning of the second half in opening up a 14-point lead en route to defeating Saint Peter's 65-48 while clinching a spot in Monday night's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship Game at the Times Union Center.

The Jaspers will take on longtime rival Iona Monday, March 9 at 9:00 p.m. before a nationally televised ESPN2 audience. For important ticket information please click HERE.

After Saint Peter's opened the scoring with a jumper, junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) fueled an 8-2 run with a pair of triples while giving Manhattan an 8-4 lead at the first media (15:50). Sophomore Tyler Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) then hit a runner to extend the lead out to six.

The Peacocks then briefly answered with a jumper before freshman Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Fayetteville Academy) sparked a 7-2 run with a three pointer while pushing the advantage out to 17-8 with 11:07 until halftime.

Saint Peter's then ripped off eight-straight points to trim the deficit to 17-16 with 6:36 until halftime before Waterman stopped the bleeding with his second triple of the half.

Later in the half with Manhattan lead now at two, senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, N.Y. / Robinson School (N.J.)) sparked a half-ending 8-0 run with an open-court steal before forcing another steal that turned into a Richards three-point play. Richards capped the spurt with this shot that beat the buzzer while giving the Jaspers a 33-23 halftime advantage.

In the opening stanza, Manhattan forced 13 turnovers that led to an 18-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Richards led the charge with 12 points while junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland) and Waterman each notched six points.

Pankey opened the scoring after halftime with a jumper while sparking a half-opening 6-2 spurt that included a Carlton Allen (Ewing, N.J. / Life Center Academy) jumper and a pair of Wilson free throws as the Jaspers assumed a 39-25 lead with 14:59 remaining.

Saint Peter's would battle and cut the deficit to seven at 46-39 with 5:27 to play following a Tyler Gaskins free throw. The Peacocks then forced an errant shot only to see Waterman grab the offensive rebound and head to the line. After hitting the first, senior Donovan Kates (Hopkinsville, Ky. / Christian County) grabbed the rebound before Andujar hit a layup off yet another offensive rebound.

Marvin Dominique would give Saint Peter's new life on the other end with a jumper but Stores, as he has done all year, closed the door on a potential Peacock comeback with another clutch three with the shot clock expiring in giving the Jaspers a 52-41 lead with 3:40 to play.

Manhattan's lead wouldn't dip below double-figures the rest of the way as the Jaspers would go on to post the decisive 65-48 win.

With the victory, head coach Steve Masiello matches Fran Fraschilla for the most MAAC Tournament wins in school history (7) and will look to improve the standard tomorrow night.

Richards scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the first half while Pankey and Waterman each notched 10 points. Stores had a tremendous all-around game, finishing with nine points, four assists and three steals – including two of which that came during Jaspers' game-changing 14-2 spurt.

Dominique finished with 13 points to lead the way for Saint Peter's.

Manhattan shot a solid 40.8 percent (20-for-49) from the floor, including a blistering 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from long range, while making good on 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the line.

The Jaspers also parlayed 19 turnovers into a decisive 24-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

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