Manhattan 86 – Marist 54
In a Manhattan Jaspers season where the hiccups have canceled the highlights, nothing so far has matched yesterday’s performance at Draddy Gym.
The game ended 86-54, Manhattan over Marist, but throw out the final 20 minutes. Look instead at the first half, and look from the perspective of Bobby Gonzalez, the Jaspers coach who has spent the winter trying to yank this sort of effort from a team that starts three freshmen.
Watch guard Jeff Xavier, the freshman who came to campus deficient on defense, poking the ball from Marist’s Pierre Monagan for one of his four steals.
There was Jason Wingate whipping a 50-foot pass to an all-alone Arturo Dubois, who caught it at the rim and scored. There was C.J. Anderson, another freshman, scoring in the post, and Peter Mulligan and Wingate sinking threes from every angle.
And then there was the scoreboard. After a first-half that featured a 20-0 Manhattan run, it read 50-22 Jaspers, as Gonzalez and his players headed for their happiest halftime of 2005.
“One of the best halves we’ve had this year, if not our best,” Gonzalez said. “We just haven’t been able to play like that consistently, and I’m hoping we’re starting to do that now.”
Yesterday’s rout followed Friday’s 90-73 victory over second-place Rider. The victories countered last week’s three-game losing skid and have brought the Jaspers (12-11, 7-8) within a half-game of Marist and Iona, who share fourth place in the MAAC. Whichever squad finishes there earns a bye through the conference tournament’s opening round.
Although Manhattan still sits behind the Red Foxes (10-13, 7-7), the visitors looked like the troubled team yesterday as they lost their sixth straight game.
Three weeks ago, Marist, picked ninth in the preseason poll, sat atop the league thanks in part to a 71-62 win over Manhattan in Poughkeepsie. Then senior center Will McClurkin drew a four-game suspension for violating school rules, and though he returned to the starting lineup yesterday, the team hasn’t recovered its January form.
“It changed the dynamics of our team,” said Brady, who added that inconsistent practices have hurt the Red Foxes as well. “We are too limited to have to go through the ebbs and flows this suspensions has caused.”
Yesterday’s first half, which was tied at 16 before the hosts’ 20-point spurt, didn’t add to any optimism Brady harbored. Six Jaspers scored at least six points in the half, led by Mulligan’s 13. Manhattan shot 63 percent from the field, 58 percent from three-point land, and racked up 13 assists against two turnovers.
Mulligan finished with 19 points, and Anderson added 18 points and 13 rebounds.
They each left to standing ovations in the final minutes, but the players hope this isn’t as good as it gets this season in Riverdale.
“We want to peak, and this is the best time to do it,” Mulligan said. “We’ve got a chance in the conference now to do some great things.”