ALBANY — At Manhattan, the only month that matters is March.
The sixth-seeded Jaspers may no longer be MAAC tournament favorites, but the two-time defending champions showed Thursday night they aren’t ready to cede the title belt just yet, reminding the conference they remain a contender after a dominant 81-63 first-round win over 11th-seeded Marist at the Times Union Center.
Entering with five losses in its past six games, Manhattan (13-17) picked up its play in the postseason again, leading wire-to-wire to claim its seventh straight MAAC tournament win.
Senior Shane Richards scored 27 points, making 11-of-15 from the field, including all five 3-point attempts.
“I do think there’s something to be said for when you know there’s no tomorrow, you look at your players in the eyes and very good goes home, great stays,” Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said. “You got to be great. We understand that. It doesn’t mean it’s going to translate for us, but we do understand it.
“I’m really proud of my guys, they came, they fought and they handled it like a business trip.”
Business began at tip-off, as the Jaspers played a near-perfect first half and made 15 of their first 17 shots. Richards, a First Team All-MAAC selection, made his first eight shots to carry the Jaspers to an early 32-9 lead, and scored 20 first-half points.
“I wanted to come out and be aggressive and just set the tone for us,” Richards said. “I didn’t even know I didn’t miss a shot until one of my teammates brought it up. Of course, I missed the next one.”
But mistakes were few, as the Jaspers shot more than 63 percent from the field and looked just as sharp defensively, winning just about every 50-50 ball and holding the Red Foxes (7-23) to under 35 percent shooting in the first half.
The Jaspers led 46-29 at halftime and closed like champions, stretching the lead as many as 26 points and never allowing it to slip below 17. Calvin Crawford added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Manhattan, which reached the title game as a sixth seed in 2013, faces a far tougher challenge Saturday night against host and No. 3 seed Siena (20-11). They split their two meetings this season.
“We’re basically coming in and trying to take on all of Albany. I don’t want any pity or empathy about it,” Masiello said. “We know what we’re up against and now it’s just a matter of us getting ready for that.”
In the other first-round games, Phil Valenti scored a career-high 33 points and No. 7 seed Canisius (14-18) defeated 10th-seeded Niagara 103-97 in three overtimes, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed Iona (19-10) on Friday night.
Top-seeded Monmouth (25-6) will face No. 8 seed Rider (13-19) on Friday after the Broncos’ 60-57 win over No. 9 seed Quinnipiac.