Manhattan Blitzes EKU 81-54 Thanks To Big Second Half

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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan shot 68.0 percent after halftime en route to posting a dominating 81-54 come-from-behind win over Eastern Kentucky at Draddy Gymnasium.


Junior Calvin Crawford (Middletown, NY / St. Thomas More (CT)) scored a season-high 19 points to pace four double-figure scorers as the Jaspers improve to 5-8 with their second-straight win while the Colonels fall to 6-8.

Eastern Kentucky's was limited to its lowest offensive output (54 points) of the season and 24 points below its scoring average thanks to a tenacious Manhattan defense that forced 17 turnovers with a season-high 13 steals.

Trailing 30-28 at the half, the Jaspers set the tone for the second half when junior Zavier Turner (Indianapolis, IN / Ball State) hit the floor to grab a crucial offensive rebound. Crawford then converted on the second chance while kick-starting a game-changing 23-5 run, including 12-straight at one point.

Crawford scored 11 of the the Jaspers' 23 points during the spurt that turned a two-point deficit into an insurmountable 51-35 advantage with 13:16 to play.

Eastern Kentucky would cut the deficit to nine at 53-44 with 10:26 to play only to see junior Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, NC / Fayetteville Academy) respond with a layup and Aaron Walker Jr. (Brooklyn, NY / Cardozo) a dunk before Turner a canned a pair from the line in stretching the advantage out to 15 with 8:12 to play.

Manhattan would continue to attack and ended the game on a 18-6 run en route to posting an 81-54 victory.

The win was the largest since defeating Binghamton 94-51 on December 30, 2011 as the Jaspers made good on 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the floor and 86.7 percent (26-of-30) from the line. 

Walker Jr. scored 12 points with a career-high six assists while Council matched him with 12 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds. Waterman rounded out the double-digit scorers for the victors with 11 markers while pulling down six rebounds.

Nick Mayo scored 14 points with a game-high nine rebounds to pace Eastern Kentucky, which was limited to just 37.2 percent (16-of-43) shooting, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range.

Manhattan returns to action on Monday, January 2 at 7:00 pm when the Jaspers travel to Marist.