RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Manhattan used the adrenaline from an intense 40 minutes of regulation to outlast Saint Peter's in overtime 84-83. Redshirt sophomore Devin Dinkins took control of the game from the free throw line, hitting 6 of his 11 free throws in overtime to pull out the much-needed win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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A three from Will Sydnor at the 12:56 mark of the first half tied the score at 11.
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Manhattan responded to a quick 5-0 run from Saint Peter's with another three from Sydnor that cut the deficit to two with 10:54 left.
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Saint Peter's grinded out the next few possessions to open up a 27-19 lead following a pair of free throws from Adetokunbo Bakare. With 5:13 left in the first half, the Peacocks led 27-19, their largest lead of the half.
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Manhattan leaned on multiple scorers to whittle the deficit. A three from Shaquil Bender and then a three-point play by Will Sydnor brought the Jaspers to within two at 27-25.
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Moments later, a dunk by Marko Ljubicic on a nice feed from Sydnor cut Saint Peter's lead to one at 28-27, capping off an 8-1 spurt for Manhattan.
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On the dunk, Ljubicic was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim too long. Saint Peter's took advantage with a free throw from Bakare and then a three ball from him stretched the Peacocks lead back to 5 with 3:07 left.
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Saint Peter's went into halftime ahead 40-35.
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Back-to-back threes from Bender and Sydnor gave Manhattan a 43-42 lead with 17:33 left in the second half.
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A 7-0 run culminating in a lay-up from Mouhamed Sow pushed the Peacocks lead to 7 with 11:24 left.
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Back to back three from Dinkins, and a lay-up by Bender, rallied Manhattan back to within 2 with under 10 minutes left.
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With Saint Peter's clinging to their lead, Masiah Gilyard converted his jump shot and massive two-handed slam to tie the score at 63.
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With the game hanging in the balance less than two minutes left, Dinkins and Saint Peter's Eric Morgan Jr. exchanged baskets to set up an exciting final minute. Manhattan's defense came up big yet again by forcing a turnover by Marcus Randolph on the final possession of regulation.
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With Manhattan trailing by four in overtime, Gilyard knocked down a three, spurring the Jaspers' final comeback during which Dinkins took over down the stretch.
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Four free throws sandwiched around a three-pointer gave Dinkins seven points in a span of 1:24, drawing the Jaspers even with the Peacocks with 1:05 left.
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After grabbing an offensive rebound with just over two seconds left, Gilyard was fouled by Zaakir Williamson to earn a trip to the line. Gilyard went 1 for 2 which was enough to seal the win.
STATS AND NOTES
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The overtime date with Saint Peter's was the Jaspers' fourth overtime battle of the season. Manhattan moves to 2-2 (.500) in games decided in overtime.
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The Jaspers have swept the season series versus the Peacocks by a total of four points. Manhattan clipped Saint Peter's, 70-67, on the road back in December.
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The season sweep over the Peacocks marks the first time since the 2018-19 season that Manhattan beat Saint Peter's in both meetings.
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Dinkins' 26 points tied a career high that he set at Siena on January 3.
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Dinkins went a perfect 11-11 from the line on Saturday afternoon. For the season, the redshirt sophomore guard is shooting 86.1% (93-108) from the charity stripe.
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Sydnor, Robinson, Winston, Bender and Gilyard have started in all 21 games for the Jaspers this season.
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Manhattan is one of four teams in the country (Marquette, UC San Diego, Saint Mary's) that has deployed the same starting line-up in every game this season.
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Ljubicic's 7 points marked a career high for the freshman from Croatia. He also doubled his career high in minutes played by logging 14 vs. the Peacocks.
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Manhattan's 11 three-point makes vs. Saint Peter's was their most made triples in a game since connecting on 13 at Wagner back in December.
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Manhattan improved to 2-0 in games against a repeat opponent. Two weeks ago, the Jaspers concluded their season series with Mount St. Mary's by knocking off the Mountaineers in Emmitsburg by a final score of 74-64.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Manhattan head coach John Gallagher on sweeping the season series with Saint Peter's: "We're fortunate to beat them in both games. They are going to be extremely tough out down the stretch."
Gallagher on the clutch plays late: "I really thought Masiah made huge two plays (in overtime) with three from the corner and then grabbing the offensive rebound before getting fouled. Right now, Devin (Dinkins) is doing amazing things."
Gallagher after improving to 6-6 in MAAC play: "We're peaking at the right time."
NEXT TIME OUT
On Friday, Feb. 14, Manhattan will get another try at Merrimack (14-10, 11-2 MAAC) when it welcomes the Warriors to Draddy for a 7 P.M. tip-off on ESPN+. The Jaspers took a 69-62 loss in North Andover on January 12.
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