NORTH ANDOVER, M.A. — It just wasn't meant to be in the Jaspers' attempt to bounce back following Friday night's home loss vs. Mount St. Mary's. On Sunday, the Jaspers struggled at times on both ends, dropping a 69-62 decision at Merrimack.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Merrimack jumped out to a 5-0 lead which turned to 8-3 following Devon Savage's three-pointer.
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Manhattan responded with its best scoring run of the first half by way of a 9-0 spurt which included five points from Wesley Robinson. The Jaspers led 12-8 with 13:11 left.
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After four straight points from Merrimack, Manhattan answered with five in a row off a three from Jaden Winston and a dunk in transition for Will Sydnor.
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Manhattan would take its largest lead of the half a 21-14 following a lay-up from Shaquil Bender. That capped a 9-2 stretch for the Jaspers.
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Merrimack would pump life back into its early hopes by using an 8-0 run to retake the lead with 6:42 left in the first half. The Warriors used three-pointer from Malik Edmead and Matt Becht to fire back.
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Manhattan was quiet down the stretch of the first half, even though a three from Devin Dinkin was able to whittle the Merrimack lead to 28-26.
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The Jaspers went into the locker room down four at 32-28.
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In the second half, Manhattan struggled to sustain any momentum. The Jaspers were able to get back to within four following a three from Bender and finish inside for Masiah Gilyard at the 12:07 mark of the second half.
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As Manhattan started to string together stops, their chances remained alive. Gilyard stayed involved with five straight points for Manhattan to close within one at 52-51.
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Merrimack began to pull away with the help of the three ball. A 9-0 run over the course of two and a half minutes was fueled by threes from Bryan Etunmu and Becht which stretched the Merrimack advantage to 10 with just five minutes left.
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After a three from Dinkins cut it to six with 14 seconds left, Becht iced the game at the line with two free throws to close it out.
STATS AND NOTES
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Manhattan and Merrimack were even on the boards at 29, but the Warriors out-rebounded the Jaspers 16-13 in the second half.
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Both teams shot 50% from the field in the second half, and Manhattan shot better overall at 46.2% (24-52) compared to Merrimack's 45.5% (25-25).
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Gilyard came one rebound shy of a double double, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Gilyard's 4 steals marked a D1 career-high for the Brooklyn native.
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Jaden Winston recorded three steals, which makes 4 times in the last five games with at least two steals for the sophomore point guard.
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The Jaspers' 62 points is its second lowest point total of the season.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Head coach John Gallagher on hanging tough without their full personnel: "For us right now I'm really proud of the group. We're down one of our best players (Fraser Roxburgh) who against the zone is a killer. It's hard to win without that."
Gallagher on where the Jaspers fell short: "You can't have 18 turnovers. You also can't have 10 offensive rebounds against this team (Merrimack). You have to have 16 and dominate the glass, and that's something we're going to have to do."
NEXT TIME OUT
After playing three of its last four games on the road, Manhattan will host Niagara (7-9, 2-3 MAAC) on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 P.M. The program will host its Morgan's Message game in support of mental health advocacy for student-athletes.
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