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Niagara University, NY - Manhattan (5-5; 1-0 MAAC) will conclude its Western New York trip at Niagara (3-9; 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday, January 5 at 1:00 pm.
With A Win ...
* The Jaspers would start MAAC play with a 2-0 record for the second time in the last three years.
* Manhattan would sweep the Western New York trip for the second-straight year.
Masiello Against Niagara
* Head Coach
Steve Masiello is 11-5 all-time against the Purple Eagles, and previously won his 100th career game at the Gallagher Center in 2017.
* Sunday's game will be played exactly one year to the date (1/5/19) of the Jaspers' 90-80 win over Niagara.
Jaspers Topple Canisius
* Manhattan defeated Canisius by a 71-67 count on Friday thanks to converting on a season-best 55.3 percent (26-of-47) from the floor, including a blistering 64.3 percent (9-of-14) after halftime.
Sophomore Uprising
* The sophomore fivesome of
Elijah Buchanan,
Tykei Greene,
Christian Hinckson,
Samir Stewart and
Warren Williams combined for 58 points, on 64.5 percent (20-of-31) shooting in the win over Canisius.
* Over the first 10 games, the quintet has combined to account for 66.1 percent of the offense (40.5 ppg) and 54.4 percent of the rebounding (19.2 rpg).
* Williams scored a team-high 16 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, and is averaging 18.3 ppg over three career games against Canisius.
* Greene scored a career-high 25 points at Hofstra, on 10-of-17 shooting, before hitting for 13 at Canisius.
* On the year, he is averaging a team-best 11.2 ppg (20th MAAC) and 6.5 rpg (8th MAAC).
* Stewart scored a season-high 14 points vs. UAlbany, 13 at Canisius and 12 at Fordham, all of which led to Jasper wins, and is averaging 9.3 ppg (30th MAAC), 1.8 spg (5th MAAC), 1.9 triples per game (9th MAAC) and 2.9 apg (11th MAAC).
* Hinckson did a little bit of everything at Canisius, finishing with nine points, five rebound and four steals. He scored a season-high 12 points with eight rebounds at Samford, and is averaging 7.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg (t-12th MAAC), 1.8 spg (4th MAAC) and 0.7 bpg (t-12th MAAC).
* Buchanan is averaging 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg and 1.5 spg over his last four games, highlighted by a career-high 18 points against Western Michigan, after scoring 15 points with seven rebounds in the victory at Fordham in collecting 'Battle of the Bronx' MVP honors.
Pauly Doing Pauly Things
* Senior
Pauly Paulicap scored 13 points and seven rebounds at Canisius and is averaging 11.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg over his last four games.
* Paulicap is second in the MAAC with 1.5 bpg this year, highlighted by his rejection at Hofstra that was cited as the No. 4 play for December 22 on SportsCenter.
* He has blocked at least two shots on five occasions this year, including a season-high four at URI, after becoming the fifth member of the 100-block club at Stony Brook.
* Paulicap registered his seventh career double-double with 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in the win over Fordham, and is averaging 9.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg (10th MAAC) while making good on 46.5 percent (10th MAAC) from the floor.
* He is 25 rejections behind
Jamal Marshall (129) for fourth place in the all-time annals.
Last Year Against Niagara
* Stewart averaged a team-best 18.0 ppg, while shooting 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the field, including 90.0 percent (9-of-10) from deep.
* Fueled by Stewart, Manhattan swept the season series thanks to averaging 77.0 ppg while connecting on 54.5 percent from the floor, including 53.5 percent from distance.
* Over three career games against Niagara, Paulicap is averaging 13.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.3 bpg.
Series History
* The Jaspers own a 54-33 advantage in the all-time series with Niagara.
Niagara Capsule
* Niagara enters with a 3-9 record and most recently defeated Fairfield by a 75-66 count on Friday night.
* The guard trio of James Towns (15.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Raheem Solomon (11.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Marcus Hammond (10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg) lead the way for the guard-dominated Purple Eagles.
* Greg Kuakumensah is the team's top frontcourt performer, averaging a team-leading 4.3 rpg with 8.5 ppg.
Roadtrippin
* The Jaspers will play on the road for the eighth time in nine games on Friday.
Under Pressure
* Manhattan is 53-10 (.841) in Masiello's nine years when holding the opposition to less than 60 points, 44-14 (.759) when notching double-figures in steals and 27-14 (.659) when forcing at least 20 turnovers.
* The Jaspers are among the nation's best on defense, limiting teams to a MAAC-low 63.9 ppg (70th NCAA) while also pacing the MAAC in field goal percentage defense (.397-77th NCAA). Manhattan also ranks among the top-100 nationally in forced turnovers (16.4/game-54th NCAA), steals (8.0/game-72nd NCAA and 3-point defense (.307-92nd NCAA).
* Thanks to the defensive success, the Jaspers have overcome second half double-digit deficits in victories over UAlbany, at Elon and at Fordham, the last of which was fueled by a game-ending 26-14 spurt over the final 6:30 and overtime.
* Over the last five minutes/OT of 10-point games, the Jaspers are shooting 47.6 percent (20-of-42) from the floor, while limiting the opposition to just 34.7 percent (17-of-49).
* In the season-opening win over Delaware State, Manhattan forced 25 turnovers (3x last- Siena (1/13/18)) and 16 steals (Buffalo (12/21/13)), matching the most by a Masiello-coached team.
Manhattan Topples Elon
* The Jaspers posted a 69-64 win over the Phoenix, rallying from an early 17-point deficit.
* Masiello picked up his 130th career win and is fourth in the all-time annals.
* Reynolds exploded for a season-best 14 points, on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, in the victory over the Phoenix.
* Junior
Nehemiah Mack added nine points, including sinking four-straight free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
* Manhattan outscored Elon 61-39 over the final 27-plus minutes and scored on 13 of its last 15 possessions.
* The Jaspers were able to rally from a double-digit deficit thanks to registering 11 steals.
Second-Half Success
* After halftime this year, the Jaspers are averaging 35.5 ppg while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, including 36.7 percent from long range, compared to just 25.8 ppg, on 32.9 percent shooting, and 26.2 percent from deep in the opening stanza.
* In the comeback win over UAlbany, Manhattan posted a dominating 11-2 advantage on the glass over the final six-plus minutes and ended the game on a 14-8 run - including scoring the final seven points of the contest.
* Greene fueled the comeback win over the Great Danes by scoring 10 of his 17 points over the final six-plus minutes, to go along with a career-best nine rebounds.
* This year, Greene is averaging 6.6 ppg after halftime while shooting 46.7 percent (21-of-45) from the field, including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from deep.
Mas = Success
* Masiello is one of just seven Division I coaches that is 42 or younger with two conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tourney, while posting a school-record 10 MAAC Tournament wins.
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 132-136 (.493) record, including going 81-72 (.529) during MAAC play, over his nine seasons.
* At Draddy Gymnasium, Masiello holds a sterling 63-39 record (.618) and with five more wins will match
Bobby Gonzalez for the most in program history.
* He has won two MAAC Titles, advanced to title game three times, claimed two Metropolitan Coach of the Year awards with a pair of 20-win campaigns. Masiello has also participated in the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 24 seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Title.
* Masiello has a career collegiate record of 493-282 (.636), including 372-254 (.594) on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship Game appearances, two Final Fours, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
You Have A Friend In PA
* After starting all 32 games a year ago, junior
Nehemiah Mack has stabilized the Jaspers' second unit this year, posting a 2.80 assist/turnover ratio with 3.4 ppg and 2.6 apg (15th MAAC).
* Over the last six games, the Keystone State native has a 4.50 assist/turnover ratio, highlighted by a career-best six assists, against no turnovers, at URI.
The Reserves
* Through 10 games, Manhattan's bench is averaging 17.7 ppg, and is outscoring its counterparts by 7.6 ppg.
* The bench outscored the starters by a 35-34 count at Elon, while going 10-of-21 (.476) from the floor, 6-of-11 (.545) from deep, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the line.
For Starters
* The Jaspers improved to 75-39, all-time, in season openers with their wire-to-wire 85-74 win over Delaware State.
* Manhattan opened the season with a 13-0 run and converted a blistering 78.4 percent (29-of-37) from the line.
* The Jaspers also registered five double-figure scorers in the win over Delaware State for the first time since an 101-96 double-overtime victory at Marist on January 2, 2018.
Pretty, Pretty Good
* Ticket holders for all remaining basketball home games will now be able to receive 20 percent off in-restaurant orders on game days at Italian eatery Bella Notte by showing tickets to that day's contest. Bella Notte is located in central Riverdale on Johnson Avenue. This promotion covers all weekday and weekend games including Sunday Brunch, which starts at Noon. Click
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Preseason All-MAAC Recap
* Paulicap and Williams were each named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team, while Manhattan was tabbed fifth as a team.
* Paulicap averaged 8.5 points per game in limited action a year ago, while Williams notched a team-leading 9.2 points each time out in earning MAAC All-Rookie Team honors.
* Two years ago, Paulicap was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year following an outstanding year in which ranked 16th nationally with a MAAC-best 2.6 blocks per game (16th NCAA) to go along with 10.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
* Williams recorded double-figures a team-leading 16 times last season while pacing the MAAC with a .571 field goal percentage, and saved his best for last with a career-high 27 points against Canisius in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championship.
The Returners
* Manhattan's returners have scored all but 17 points this year.
* The Jaspers bring back a MAAC-best 86.5 percent of their scoring, 85.4 percent of their rebounding and 83.3 percent of their assists.
DYK
* Manhattan was one of 20 teams in the Division I ranks to not lose a transfer, returning 14 letterwinners, including 10 scholarship student-athletes.
Newcomers
* Joining the Jaspers this year are junior
Michael Okafor, freshman
Adam Cisse and classmate
Romar Reid.
Silver Anniversary
* This year, the Jaspers will be recognizing the 25th anniversary of the 1994-95 team's NCAA at-large berth and subsequent win over Oklahoma in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
What Is A Jasper?
* The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
This Is Manhattan College
* Why is Manhattan College in the Bronx? Our campus was originally located in Manhattan at the intersection of 131st Street and Broadway. In 1923, Manhattan College moved to its present Riverdale location in order to accommodate a growing student body. But with more than 60 years of history established as Manhattan College, the institution decided to retain the name despite the geographic misnomer.
* 17 alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
* Alumni include Rudy Giuliani '65, former mayor of New York City; James Patterson '69, best-selling author; and Raymond Kelly '63, former commissioner of the NYPD.
* Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
This Is Manhattan Basketball
* Manhattan has three wins in NCAA Tournament play, defeating West Virginia (1958), Oklahoma (1995) and Florida (2004).
* The Jaspers have won five MAAC Tournament titles in the last 25 years (1993, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015).
* Manhattan received an at-large berth in 1995 and defeated Oklahoma before falling to Arizona State.
* Was the first team in NCAA history to a win a game in Europe, defeating Holy Cross 70-54 on December 1, 2017 as part of the inaugural Belfast Classic.
Up Next
* Manhattan will continue MAAC play at Fairfield on Friday, January 10 at 7:00 pm.
