STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Manhattan held a one-point lead at halftime before running away in the second half for an 80-66 win over Wagner at the Spiro Sports Center. The Jaspers hung 50 points in the second half, and were led by 20 points from Wesley Robinson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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At the 15:40 mark of the first half, Manhattan led 9-6 following a lay-up from Will Sydnor.
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After a free throw from Keyontae Lewis tied the score at nine apiece, Manhattan answered with an 11-2 run which included a three from Fraser Roxburgh and back-to-back lay-ups from Shaquil Bedner and Jaden Winston.
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Manhattan added two more triples—one from Bender and one from Masiah Gilyard—which opened a 24-19 lead with 5:38 left.
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Wagner battled back led by Ja'kair Sanchez, whose lay-up earned the Seahawks a 27-26 lead. However, Bender had the perfect response as his mid-range jump shot retook the lead for Manhattan with 1:50 left.
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The Jaspers went into halftime with a 30-29 lead.
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Manhattan came out of the gates in the second half aggressively led by Sydnor. Back-to-back threes from the freshman extended the lead to 38-33 after Robinson was relegated to the bench with his third foul at the 19:07 mark.
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Manhattan launched an 11-3 run midway through the second half to go ahead 54-44 following a jumper from Bender.
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The Jaspers put the game out of reach with a three-point barrage, including three straight from Robinson and two from Dinkins.
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Michael Lawlor added his first career points with a driving finish in the lane with 17 seconds left.
STATS AND NOTES???
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Despite sitting for a stretch of 9:31 in the second half, Robinson finished with his D1 career-high 20 points on 4-9 shooting from long range. Robinson's four triples were a college career high.
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Manhattan nailed a season-high 13 threes on 30 attempts (43.3 percent).
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Manhattan improves to 3-1 this season in games in which it scored 80 or more points.
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Sydor finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. The freshman from the Bronx has connected on seven of his last 13 three-point attempts.
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Winston posted a season-best 10 assists in the win.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Head coach John Gallagher on the Jaspers' eruption from three-point range: "Great things were happening when we executed and had great rhythm. Even in the first half we had a few (three-point shots) rim out. I give our guys a lot of credit for the way they finished."
Gallagher on the final tune-up before MAAC play resumes: "We have a huge game Saturday (at Presbyterian) and then we have sort of a training camp after that before league play…the one thing about us is we're getting a lot better which is exciting."
NEXT TIME OUT
Manhattan will fly down to South Carolina to play Presbyterian (7-6, 0-0 Big South). The Jaspers and the Blue Hose will meet for the first time ever on Saturday at 1 PM. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Follow Manhattan Basketball on X @JaspersMBB and on Instagram @jaspers.mbb.
