BUFFALO, NY — Manhattan fell behind early, fought back and then produced timely baskets down the stretch of regulation to defeat Canisius, 77-72,on Friday night. The Jaspers have officially clinched a spot in the MAAC Championships which will be held in Atlantic City.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Manhattan scored the opening five points on a corner three from Jaden Winston and a driving finish through traffic for Will Sydnor.
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Canisius launched an 18-0 run to take an 18-5 lead at the 13:42 mark of the first half.
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After falling behind 29-14 just past the midway point of the half, the Jaspers engineered a 15-0 run to get right back in it with the help of eight points from Sydnor during the run.
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Devin Dinkins' lay-up at the 5:06 mark tied the game at 29, the first tie since 5-5.
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Two late threes from Shaquil Bender and another basket from Sydnor sent the Jaspers into the locker room with a paltry three-point deficit (40-37).
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After Canisius regained a seven-point lead out of the gate in the second half, a corner three from Wesley Robinson broke a scoring drought to cut the deficit back down to four.
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Eight consecutive points from Roxburgh followed by back-to-back lay-ups from Dinkins and Bender gave Manhattan its first lead since 5-3. The Jaspers led 52-51 with 11:19 left.
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Dinkins' started to work his magic, canning back-to-back threes that opened up a four-point lead for Manhattan at 59-55.
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Canisius would retake a one-point lead on a personal 5-0 run from Dylan Godfrey.
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Manhattan would close the game on a 16-10 run punctuated by a lay-up from Roxburgh off a feed from Bender that pushed the Jaspers' advantage to three with 1:02 left.
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Winston and Dinkins each nailed a pair of free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach for Canisius.
STATS AND NOTES
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With the win, Manhattan has clinched a spot in the MAAC Championships in Atlantic City. The Jaspers will be one of 10 teams competing for the conference crown, with Manhattan still eyeing a first-round bye in the tournament by cracking the top six.
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Manhattan has doubled its win total from last season with 14 wins this season.
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Roxburgh finished one point shy of his career high with 16 points.
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14 of Roxburgh's points came in the second half on 6-7 shooting from the field and 1-2 from behind the arc.
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Dinkins finished with 13 points with 11 of his tallies coming in the second half.
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Over the final 20 minutes, Dinkins was 3-5 from the field, 2-4 from 3 and 3-4 from the free throw line.
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Roxburgh (16), Sydnor (15), Bender (15) and Dinkins (13) led the way in points.
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Bender pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds.
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The Jaspers were +13 (38-25) on the glass.
NEXT UP
Manhattan (14-12, 9-8 MAAC) will face off with Niagara (10-18, 5-12 MAAC) on Sunday at 2 P.M. The action from the Gallagher Center will air live on ESPN+.
Follow Manhattan Basketball on X (@JaspersMBB) and on Instagram (@jaspers.mbb).
