New York, N.Y. ? The Manhattan men's basketball team came up short this evening in MAAC action falling to Iona (8-15, 4-7) 62-60 at Madison Square Garden. The Jaspers held Iona to just one field goal over the final six minutes and closed out the game with a 13-2 run. Manhattan's (8-13, 2-9) potential game tying shot attempts with just seconds remaining fell short sending the Gaels off with its first victory over the Jaspers in two years.
Four Jaspers scored in double figures, including a team-high 15 points from sophomore point guard Antoine Pearson. Pearson was 3-5 from 3-point territory.
Iona used a game-high 18 points from junior forward Gary Springer who went 6-11 from the field. Springer was dominant on the glass collecting 10 rebounds over 22 minutes of action. It marked his second double-double of the season.
Manhattan entered intermission facing a 29-25 deficit shooting just 24.0% (6-25) from the floor. The Jaspers connected on just one field goal over the first eight minutes of action.
Pearson's sharp shooting from beyond the arc got the Jaspers going in the second half. At the 13:50 mark, Pearson buried his second straight 3-pointer to cut the Iona advantage to 45-41.
The Jaspers came up with game changing defensive stands down the stretch helping itself climb back into the contest. Eventually, with just 31 seconds remaining junior guard Devon Austin threw down a dunk off a backdoor cut to trim the deficit to 62-60. Austin had 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
On the other end of the court, Iona senior guard Kyle Camper missed the front end of a 1-and-1 giving Manhattan one last opportunity. Camper had seven points and four assists on the evening.
On the ensuing possession, the Gaels stingy defense forced freshman guard Chris Smith into a difficult shot from the corner with three seconds remaining that was just off the mark. Smith posted 10 points and four rebounds over 24 minutes of action.
Manhattan freshman guard Rashad Green had a solid all-around performance scoring 15 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Herve Banogle complemented Green coming off the bench. He grabbed three steals and three rebounds over 26 minutes.
The Jaspers look to rebound and snap its six game losing streak on Sunday afternoon at Saint Peter's. Tip off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
