BUFFALO, N.Y. – Manhattan makes its annual trip to Western New York this weekend to face Niagara on Friday and Canisius on Sunday.
Manhattan is looking to sweep the season series with Niagara and split with Canisius. A win on Sunday would be the third in the last four for Manhattan at Canisius.
The Jaspers are coming off a 67-65 loss at Rider on Sunday. Manhattan had a pair of chances to take the lead inside the final 90 seconds but came up empty on both occasions. For the game, there were 17 lead changes, and Manhattan enjoyed the largest, six, early in the first half.
Josh Roberts led all scorers with 18 points on 7-7 shooting.
Samir Stewart and
Marques Watson finished with 12 points for the Jaspers.
Ant Nelson tallied a career-high 11 assists and added nine points and four rebounds.
Niagara (10-9, 5-5 MAAC) stopped a four-game losing streak with a 59-67 win at Saint Peter's on Sunday. Noah Thomasson continues to lead the Purple Eagles' offense at 18.3 points per game. Thomasson is 0.1 points off the league lead. Aaron Gray is second on the team in scoring at 12.6 per contest. Through 10 MAAC games, Thomasson is scoring 19.7 a night, and Gray adds 14 for the Purple Eagles. As a team, Niagara is third in the MAAC in field goal and 3-point percentage.
Canisius (5-14, 3-7 MAAC) dropped two games in Connecticut last weekend at Fairfield and Quinnipiac. The Golden Griffins are 2-3 since beating the Jaspers on Jan. 6. Canisius has three players averaging in double figures: Jordan Henderson, Tahj Staveskie, and Jamir Moultrie. The Golden Griffins are fourth in the MAAC in scoring (69.5) and last in scoring defense (73.7).
Nelson's 11 assists on Sunday were the most by a MAAC player this season. Nelson's average moved up to 4.5 assists per game after Sunday.
If Manhattan can beat Niagara on Friday and sweep the season series, it would be the fourth time in the last five seasons that Manhattan swept Niagara.
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