BOX SCORE
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Eagles seniors Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore combined for 38 points as American (6-6) escaped with a 60-48 victory over the Manhattan men's basketball team this evening in Riverdale. Jaspers' junior guard Jamel Ferguson paced Manhattan (7-4) with a season-high 11 points. Manhattan College honored over 50 veterans as it celebrated Iraq War Veterans Appreciation Day.
“We shot ourselves in the foot early in the game, and wound up playing them even in the second half. It was that early jump they had gotten that put them out nicely in front,” stated third year Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen.
The Jaspers made a few rallies in the second half, in an attempt to overcome a 32-20 halftime deficit. Manhattan cut its disadvantage to single digits four times in the second half, but Carr and Gilmore had the answers knocking down key buckets to push the Eagles advantage back to double digits.
“They hit some daggers as soon as we narrowed the gap a bit. They had an answer with a big shot,” said Rohrssen.
With 10:07 remaining, junior forward Brandon Adams converted a three point play to cut American's lead to six (47-41). Gilmore answered with a big 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Carr buried a jumper on the next to gain a comfortable cushion.
Manhattan shot 30.5% (18-59) from the field to American's 45.7% (21-46) mark. The Jaspers won the battle of the boards by a 39-35 margin.
Ferguson was the only Jasper to score in double-figures. He was 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from downtown.
Manhattan's bench outscored the Eagles 28-5. Every Jasper who logged minutes appeared in the scoring column.
The Jaspers travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday for a New Year's Eve showdown with LaSalle at 4 p.m.
