CLINTON, S.C. — Manhattan used a huge second-half performance to battle back and force overtime before coming away with an 86-81 victory at Presbyterian. The Jaspers were boosted by five double digit-scorers, led by 18 points from Devin Dinkins, Jaden Winston and Will Sydnor.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Masiah Gilyard scored the first five points for Manhattan, but Presbyterian answered with a 10-run to take an 11-5 lead following Jamahri Harvey's second three-pointer at the 16:14 mark.
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Presbyterian stayed hot and increased their lead to 21-7 after a three from Kory Mincey with 13:34 left in the first half.
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The Jaspers were kept from scoring a field goal for nearly five minutes midway through the first, which allowed the Blue Hose to take the largest lead of the game at 29-10.
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Manhattan would cut the deficit to 11 on two instances, but the Blue Hose held a 43-30 lead at the half following another basket from Mincey.
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Manhattan cut it to six when Robinson was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three of his free throws. The Blue Hose led 46-40 with 14:52 left.
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Then, Sydnor took over and launched a personal 10-0 run which brought the Jaspers to within two at 61-59.
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Manhattan would take their first lead since 5-4 when Dinkins knocked down his second three of the game with 5:27 left. Jaden Winston followed that up with an and-one lay-up that stretched the Jaspers lead to five with just under five minutes remaining.
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After Presbyterian made it a one possession game, Gilyard reeled in his missed three-pointer and secured the second-chance finish to make it 68-64 Jaspers.
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At the 1:05 mark, a three-pointer from Robinson put Manhattan back on top 73-70, and moments later Winston added two more from the free throw line after being fouled on a three-point attempt.
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On the penultimate possession of regulation, Carl Parrish continued his heroics for Presbyterian by driving to the hoop for a pivotal and-one, with Winston whistled for his fourth foul on the play. His ensuing free throw was good, tying the game at 73 before an off-balanced three from Sydnor missed on the final possession at the buzzer.
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Sydnor got his revenge in the overtime period as his pull-up three-pointer with 3:28 left answered a three from Parrish, once again tying the game.
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Clutch baskets from Robinson and Winston gave Manhattan the separation it needed, before Dinkins iced the game from the free throw line with four consecutive makes which settled the final scoreline at 86-81.
STATS AND NOTES
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Manhattan played its first overtime game since March 9, 2024 when the Jaspers lost to Canisius 73-70 in the regular season finale at Draddy.
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The Jaspers posted 43 points in the second half, which was the eighth time this season the Jaspers eclipsed the 40-point mark in the second half, including for the third straight game.
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The Jaspers were 6-12 from three in the second half and overtime combined. Before that, Manhattan was 3-14 from long range and missed 8 of its first 9 attempts.
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Manhattan received five double-digit scorers for the fourth time this year. The previous instances were against Le Moyne, Army and FDU.
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Gilyard (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Robinson (14 points, 4 assists) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers.
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The 10 rebounds marked a season-high for Gilyard, while Dinkins' five assists tied his career high.
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Sydnor supplied a career-high four blocks in the win.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
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Head coach John Gallagher on the test his team faced: "This was like a MAAC road game with the talent level and the play-making. In that first half we got overwhelmed by their talent…we made some uncharacteristic plays...but at halftime we made an adjustment with our ball screen defense and it changed the entire game."
Gallagher on his team's unrelenting style of play: "Our toughness, our resilience, our grit…everyone talks about those words, but it's about how you do it and we have that now."
NEXT TIME OUT
Manhattan will bring a two-game winning streak to Albany on Jan. 3 when the Jaspers face off with Siena (5-7, 1-1 MAAC) at MVP Arena. The action will be streamed live ESPN+ at 7 PM.
Follow Manhattan Basketball on X @JaspersMBB and on Instagram @jaspers.mbb.