ALBANY, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College men's basketball team came up just short in its MAAC Championships quarterfinals matchup with top-seeded Siena (20-10) falling 66-58 at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Jaspers' junior forward Devon Austin posted his third career double-double finishing with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Siena sophomore Alex Franklin exploded for a game-high 26 points to lead the Saints past Manhattan (12-19).
It proved to be a see-saw battle early on as the lead changed seven times throughout the first twelve minutes of the contest.
At the 12:00 mark in the first half, freshman forward Rashad Green slashed through the lane and connected on a layup to give the Jaspers a 12-11 advantage. This proved to be Manhattan's final lead of the contest.
Just 17 seconds later, Siena swingman Edwin Ubiles laid one in at the opposite end of the court sparking a 12-0 Saints run. By the end of the surge, Siena held a 23-12 lead with 6:18 remaining in the half.
Siena possessed a 32-23 advantage at intermission.
Franklin's inside presence caused problems for the Jaspers over the first 20 minutes. Franklin entered the break with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, and was a perfect 4-4 from the line.
Austin anchored the Jaspers offensive attack with sharp shooting of his own in the first half. He was 6-10 from the floor for 13 points.
The Jaspers chipped away at a deficit which got as large 15 in the early stages of the second half. Manhattan rallied to get within seven points on three occasions, but couldn't get over the hump as the Saints seemed to have an answer to each basket.
Chris Smith and Antoine Pearson added 10 points apiece to the effort. Smith also grabbed six rebounds, while anchoring the Jaspers' defensive efforts.
Manhattan struggled from 3-point territory going 3-14 (21.4%) on the night. The Jaspers were also plagued with poor free-throw shooting finishing 5-12 (41.7%).
Austin was 8-15 from the field. Over Manhattan's two tournament games, Austin averaged 21.5 points, nine rebounds and shot 60.0% (18-30) from the field.
Manhattan wraps up the 2007-08 campaign with a 12-19 overall record.
