RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Manhattan picked up a wire-to-wire win over archrival Iona (8-13, 5-5), using a 19-4 run late in the first half to pull away from the Gaels in a 76-55 win. Masiah Gilyard took over for a stretch in the first half and Will Sydnor opened the second half on fire as the pair combined for 38 points and 13 rebounds to extend the Jaspers win streak to two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Will Sydnor scored the opening basket and Manhattan stretched its lead to 8-2 by the 17:23 mark.
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Iona battled back with an 8-2 run over a nearly three-minute stretch.
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Manhattan's offense got sharper as the first half progressed, capping off a 9-0 with an open three from Wesley Robinson that extended the Jaspers lead to 17-10.
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Gilyard found his groove midway through the first half, unleashing a stretch in which he scored 6 of 9 points, including two baskets on second-chance points. Manhattan led 26-14 with 8:18 left in the half.
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Overall, Manhattan outscored Iona 19-4 over a seven-and-a-half minute stretch that put the Jaspers up by 22. The extended stretch was capped off by an incisive feed from Sydnor to classmate Marko Ljubicic for an easy two before a three from the wing by Gilyard gave him his 13th and final points of the half.
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Manhattan went into the locker room with a 42-24 lead.
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Sydnor scored the Jaspers first 10 points of the second half, which included a 50-foot inbounds pass from Wesley Robinson that found an open Sydnor for an uncontested dunk.
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Better execution from the visitors resulted in an 8-0 run that cut the Jaspers lead to 16 with 10:26 left. Iona's Yaphet Moundi added six points inside during the spurt.
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Manhattan regained control of the tempo of the game after a dunk from Bender in transition snapped the Gaels' 8-0 run. The timely basket ended a stretch of three-plus minutes without a basket for the Jaspers, who still led 61-43 with 9:46 remaining.
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The closest Iona came was 13 back on a lay-up from veteran guard Dejour Reaves with 6:19 left. Sydnor responded with a mid-range jumper from the short corner and Manhattan cruised the rest of the way.
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Head coach John Gallagher emptied the bench at the 1:17 mark, paving the way for a three in the final from freshman walk-on John Berbano.
STATS AND NOTES
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Sydnor scored a game-high 23 points and 6 rebounds on 9-16 shooting from the field.
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Masiah Gilyard ended his night with 15 points and a game-high 7 rebounds.
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At 6'3, Gilyard leads Manhattan with 7.3 rebounds per game.
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Freshman Marko Ljubicic scored his first points since recording 3 points vs. Mercy back on November 12.
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Fraser Roxburgh missed his 8th consecutive game with a foot injury.
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Shaquil Bender matched a season-high three steals.
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Winston registered eight assists and now has 15 helpers across the past two games.
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Winston is tied 59th in the country in assists with 4.9 per game.
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Manhattan has won back-to-back home games vs. Iona by double-digits. The Jaspers bested the Gaels 77-60 at Draddy last season.
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The victory was the Jaspers' largest margin of victory over Iona since a 23-point triumph at Draddy on Feb. 2, 2020.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Head coach John Gallagher on the Jaspers' gritty win: "I thought tonight was our most complete game. We've been practicing so well so I was actually concerned about practicing well but not playing well. It's our defense that won the game for us, and if you look at the last game (vs. Mount) and this game, we're really stringing together stops."
Gallagher on the importance of the defensive end: "We can really make headway in this league if we continue to focus on the defensive side of the ball. Right now, KenPom we were in the 300s (nationally) defensively but our offense is the best in the league (163rd nationally). This reminds me of my 2017-18 season when we (Hartford) were the best offensive team in the America East."
Gallagher on showing support for Coaches vs. Cancer tonight and his role on the organization's council: "The area I come from in Philly Fran Dunphy and Phil Martelli are two legacy guys who got me into it. It's an organization that really looks after people that have cancer and what they do is magnificent work. I'm honored to be on the council."
NEXT TIME OUT
Manhattan will play Sacred Heart (8-12, 4-5 MAAC) for the first time ever in MAAC play when the Jaspers visit the Pitt Center for a 2 P.M. tip on Sunday on ESPN+. The Pioneers won both of its games last weekend in Buffalo each by nine points.
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