Manhattan University Athletics

Riverdale, N.Y. (December 20, 2007)- The men's basketball team welcomes Pepperdine University to Draddy Gymnasium on Friday, December 21, in the Jaspers final home game in the 2007 calendar year. The game is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be webcast on GoJaspers.com's JasperVision.

Today's Matchup: The Jaspers return to Draddy Gym to take on the Pepperdine University Waves on Friday, December 21. The game will mark just the second meeting between the two programs, with the first meeting taking place last year in Malibu, Calif. Manhattan won that game, 89-87, a win that sparked a six game win streak, pushing the Jaspers to the top of the MAAC standings. Devon Austin paced the Manhattan offense that day, scoring 22 points and adding a career-high 13 rebounds. This game will likely have a much different feel to it than the Jaspers game vs. Princeton, as the Waves run an up-tempo and high-scoring offense vs. the Tigers' deliberate offense.

What's Next?: Following today's game, the Jaspers close out 2007 by going back on the road to begin a stretch of five of six road games with a game at Rutgers University on December 29. Rutgers leads the all-time series, 16-14, though the Jaspers have won the last two meetings, and three of the last five. The Jaspers and Scarlet Knights last met in the 1995-96 season, with Manhattan posting a 81-76 win in Pisacataway. One of the more memorable wins in program history also occurred at the RAC on March 23, 1992, when Chris "Smooth" Williams went the length of the floor to score the game-winner at the buzzer in the Jaspers' 62-61 win in the NIT.

All-time record: Manhattan is in its 102nd season of men's basketball. The Jaspers' overall record is 1209-1043 (.537), while the team has posted a 202-203 (.499) record over 26-plus seasons of MAAC play. The men's basketball program was established in 1904-05 and has taken two seasons off (1943-44 and 1944-45) due to World War II. In 55 of the program's 101-plus seasons, including the four of the last six seasons, the Jaspers have posted a .500 or better record. Manhattan's 200 MAAC wins makes them just the second MAAC team to reach 200 wins in conference, joining Iona College.

Jaspers Live on the Internet: For the 10th consecutive year, Manhattan College's men's basketball games will be broadcast live via the Internet. In partnership with Stretch Internet, followers of Manhattan basketball can now access the live play-by-play of all Jasper games. A link to the broadcast is available on Manhattan College's website (GoJaspers.com). Ed Cohen and Brian Mahoney will serve as the voices of Jasper basketball. Each broadcast will begin with the "Coach's Pre-Game Report" 15 minutes prior to tip-off.