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West Long Branch, NJ - Junior Zane Waterman's (Winston-Salem, NC / Fayetteville Academy) game-high 28 points wasn't enough as Manhattan dropped an 82-71 decision to Monmouth at OceanFirst Bank Center.
In defeat, the Jaspers fall to 7-13 and 2-7 in the MAAC while the Hawks improve to 15-5 and 7-2 in the league.
Waterman was an impressive 4-of-5 from long range and 12-of-13 at the line while adding six rebounds and two blocks to pace Manhattan. Freshman Aaron Walker Jr. (Brooklyn, NY / Cardozo) also was solid in finishing with 14 points - highlighted by this dunk - and four assists.
Trailing 11-10 in the opening stanza, Walker Jr. hit a jumper, Waterman a pair from the line and junior Zavier Turner (Indianapolis, IN / Ball State) a triple to give the Jaspers a six-point advantage with 9:51 until halftime. The lead would grow to seven on three occasions before Monmouth ripped off 12-straight points in jumping in front 28-23 at the 3:23 mark of the first.
After Waterman briefly answered, the Hawk advantage would expand to six following a Robinson triple. In keeping with the game-of-runs theme, Manhattan closed out the half with a 9-2 run that was capped by back-to-back Waterman three pointers as the visitors took a 34-33 lead into intermission.
After halftime, Monmouth scored the first six points and opened up a nine-point lead on three occasions but couldn't shake the Jaspers.
Despite owning a solid advantage and holding the momentum, the Hawks couldn't put away the visitors and after Je'lon Hornbeck hit a pair from the line to make it a 64-56 game with 7:49 to play Manhattan made its move.
Waterman converted an old-fashioned three-point play to spark a 9-3 run that brought the visitors to within two at the 4:50 mark. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Jaspers would get as Monmouth made good on 13-of-14 down the stretch in earning the 82-71 victory.
Manhattan shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the floor, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from deep, and 75.0 percent from the line (21-of-28). The Jaspers also posted a 36-34 advantage on the glass, fueled by a team-high seven from junior Ahmed Ismail (Cairo, Egypt / Colby CC).
Fueled by four three pointers, Justin Robinson scored 27 points to pace the Hawks while Micah Seaborn added 20.
Manhattan hosts Siena on Sunday, January 22 with opening tip tabbed for 2:00 pm.
