Riverdale, NY - Fueled by a season-high 46 points from the bench and a 13-2 game-ending run, Manhattan defeated Monmouth 78-71 in front of a frenzied Draddy Gymnasium crowd and an ESPN3 audience.
Sophomore Calvin Crawford (Middletown, NY / St. Thomas More (CT)) paced the second unit, which outscored the starters by a 46-32 count, with a career-high 20 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, with six rebounds and three blocks.
With the victory, the Jaspers improve to 8-10 and 5-4 in the MAAC while the Hawks fall to 14-5 and 6-2 in the league.
Monmouth opened the game with a 14-2 run and appeared poised to put the game away early. However, Manhattan and most notably senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, NY / Robinson School (NJ)) had other ideas. Stores answered with a three-point play before hitting a layup as the Jaspers quickly ripped off six-straight points.
Collin Stewart briefly answered with a triple and with the Hawk advantage at 19-10 with 12:45 to play until halftime. Manhattan then made its big push with 10-straight points in assuming a 20-19 advantage with 8:44 to play in the opening stanza on the first of what would be many big shots on the night from Thomas Capuano (Fr., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY / Iona Prep).
Later in the half, the Jaspers ripped off a 12-2 run en route to taking a 36-30 lead at the break.
Manhattan outscored the visitors by a 34-16 count to end the first and grabbed a halftime advantage thanks to parlaying eight Monmouth miscues into a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
After halftime, the lead would grow to nine on six occasions but the Hawks would continue to fight before making their move with just seven minutes to play. Deon Jones hit a layup before Justin Robinson canned a triple and two from the line in reclaiming the lead for visitors at 64-63 with 5:17 to play.
The Monmouth advantage would grow to 69-65 with 3:13 to play following a Micah Seaborn jumper before Crawford immediately answered with a layup and Capuano a layup off a nifty pass from Stores in tying it up at 69-69.
After Chris Brady converted a layup, senior Shane Richards (New York, NY / York Prep) hit a back-breaking three pointer to reclaim the lead for the Jaspers. Crawford then split a pair from the line before Capuano hit a three pointer from the left side with the shot clock running out. Capuano followed with a steal and Stores hit two free throws in putting the fininishing touches on a thrilling 78-71 victory.
Manhattan shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from deep, and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the line while forcing 17 turnovers that led to a 23-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
Chris Brady paced the Hawks with 15 points as Monmouth won the battle of the boards by a 38-29 count, leading to advantages of 36-26 in the paint and 14-8 on second-chance opportunities. Robinson added 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in an outstanding effort for the visitors.
Junior Rich Williams (Brooklyn, NY / Vermont Academy (VT)) had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Stores added 14 points and six assists with Capuano chipping in with 11 points. Rounding out the top performers was Richards, who notched a career-high matching five assists and three steals.
The Jaspers are at Saint Peter's on Sunday, January 24 with tip time slated for 3:00 pm on ESPN3.