Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's basketball team's 2010-2011 home opener will go down as one of the most memorable comebacks in Draddy Gymnasium's 33-year history. The Jaspers erased a 12-point second half deficit, scored the final 17 points of the ball game and held Penn (1-1) scoreless for the final 7:48 to earn a 59-54 victory on Wednesday in Riverdale.
"The first thing that comes to my mind is how proud you have to be of this team right now," stated Jaspers' head coach Barry Rohrssen. "We came out in the second half of this game and showed to ourselves and to everyone else how important it was to us tonight."
Jaspers' junior transfer Kidani Brutus made a splash in his return to the Bronx after playing the last two years at Carl Albert State in Oklahoma. Before his hometown crowd, Brutus gave Manhattan (2-0) a double-double effort (14 points, 10 rebounds), burying the biggest basket of the contest with a game clinching 3-pointer from the right corner with 29 seconds remaining.
Manhattan also received a big effort from sophomore guard George Beamon who came up one rebound shy of his second consecutive double-double, posting a career-high 21 points along with nine boards.
"It's a good feeling," explained Beamon. "Coach kept our heads in it. We hustled, we got ourselves extra plays, and we came out with the win."
The Jaspers trailed Penn 39-30 at halftime, allowing the Quakers to hit seven 3-pointers and shoot 56% (14-25) from the field. Penn was led by senior forward Jack Eggleston who went off for a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Manhattan came out of the locker room inspired and showed its dedication to defense in the second stanza. The Jaspers outscored the Quakers 29-15 in the half.
Manhattan mounted its game winning run after Eggleston's fourth 3-pointer of the night, which gave Penn a 54-42 lead with 7:48 remaining. Beamon ignited the Jaspers' surge with a three point play at the 6:59 mark. The 6'4" swingman proceeded to score nine of the Manhattan's 17 points over the comeback bid.
Freshman point guard Michael Alvarado dished out a game-high seven assists, going along with eight points and five rebounds. The reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week handed out the biggest assist of his short career with 29 seconds to go as he drew the a double team and kicked the ball out to Brutus who dropped the dagger. Brutus had three treys in the contest.
"It was good penetration by Mike (Alvarado). I was hitting shots throughout the game, and when I took it, it felt like it was going in," said Brutus.
Rhamel Brown energized Manhattan off the bench posting 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. The 6'6" freshman forward from Brooklyn added eight rebounds, one block and one steal to his line over 28 minutes of work.
Manhattan owned the boards in the second half, outrebounding Penn 23-14. The Jaspers shot 41.8% (23-55) and knocked down 76.9% (10-13) of their free-throws.
"The sixth man was huge tonight for the Jaspers," emphasized Rohrssen. "You could see our players feeding off their energy."
A near capacity crowd of 1,988 fans came out for the Jaspers debut. Manhattan will return to Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday when they host NEC rival Long Island at 2 p.m.
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