RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan's journey in Atlantic City, N.J., and its quest for the program's sixth MAAC Championships begins on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. against Marist on ESPN+.
The Jaspers enter the MAAC Championship as the No. 6 seed and will take on the No. 11 seed Red Foxes in the final game of the first day in Atlantic City. The Jaspers and Red Foxes split the season series, with the road team winning both games.
Manhattan is coming off a loss in its regular season finale against Mount St. Mary's, 74-69. The Jaspers rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit against The Mount to lead by six early in the second half. Manhattan used a 27-5 run spanning the first and second halves to take a 3-point lead, 50-47, with 11:33 remaining. Seven Jaspers scored during the stretch. Defensively, Manhattan held Mount St. Mary's to 2-15 shooting and forced four turnovers. An immediate answer by the Jaspers followed with seven straight points to lead 62-57 with 5:35 left, which included a triple from
Samir Stewart. The Mount took the lead for good at the end of a 9-0 stretch to build a 66-62 advantage.
Marist enters the MAAC Championship off an 88-76 loss to Quinnipiac at home on Saturday night. The Red Foxes are led by Second Team All-MAAC selection Patrick Gardner and All-Rookie Team selection Isaiah Brickner. Gardner finished second in the MAAC in scoring this season at 18.8 points.
The Jaspers are 29-36 all-time in MAAC postseason play. The last win for the Jaspers came at the 2020 MAAC Championship in the opening round against Fairfield. Manhattan won its last game as the No. 6 seed in 2016 in the first round against No. 11 Marist.
Ant Nelson was named First Team All-MAAC, and
Josh Roberts earned Third Team All-MAAC honors. Nelson led the Jaspers in scoring at 15.1 points and assists with 4.6 per game. Roberts led the MAAC in rebounding (9.6), field goal percentage (70.7%), and blocks (1.8).
For the latest on the Manhattan College men's basketball program, follow the Jaspers on Twitter @JaspersMBB and Instagram @Jaspers.MBB.
