Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Jaspers knew entering Saturday's matchup with Long Island that only one team would leave Draddy Gymnasium 3-0, and that ended up being the Blackbirds. Manhattan (2-1) had trouble slowing down Long Island's (3-0) up-tempo offense, falling 91-80 to snap the Jaspers' four game win streak in the series.
"They wanted to play fast. Coming off two big wins they had some confidence on the road and they made their shots," said Jaspers' fifth-year head coach Barry Rohrssen.
Freshmen Michael Alvarado and Rhamel Brown were bright spots for the Jaspers in their first loss of the year. Alvarado led Manhattan's scoring attack for the second time this season finishing with 18 points. Brown delivered the first double-double of his young career, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
The Jaspers had trouble stopping the Blackbirds' two 6'7" sophomore forwards in Kenny Onyechi and Julian Boyd. Onyechi contributed a career-high 18 points in a reserve role, while Boyd kicked in 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Manhattan led by as many as six points in the first half, before Long Island closed out the last six minutes of the stanza with a 13-7 scoring edge to take a 40-33 advantage into the break. Foul trouble and 11 turnovers set the Jaspers back in the first half. Long Island shot only 36.4% from the field, but capitalized on 70.6% (12-for-17) shooting at the line.
The Jaspers could not get a complete run going in the second half as each of Manhattan's mini surges were squashed by big shots from the Blackbirds. Long Island improved to a 51.6% (16-31) shooting mark in the second half as senior guard David Hicks found his stroke after an 0-for-6 showing before halftime. Hicks scored 11 of his 12 points in the second and shot 3-for-4, including two big 3-pointers.
"We had momentum swings, but we did not do the little things defensively and the effort just wasn't there," said Alvarado. "And that is what wins the game. We just didn't work hard enough."
Junior guard Kidani Brutus added a career-high 17 points with five 3-pointers to the Jaspers effort. Sophomore guard George Beamon had 14 points and eight rebounds, while senior Andrew Gabriel put in 12 points and seven boards.
Jaspers' junior Robert Martina and Alvarado anchored Manhattan's solid performance at the charity stripe (81.3% - 13-16). Martina shot a perfect 5-for-5 and Alvarado was 6-for-7.
The Blackbirds took advantage of 26 points off turnovers and picked up 28 more at the free-throw line. Long Island won the battle of the boards 41-38.
"Our rebounding effort has to pick up," emphasized Rohrssen. "We let them get too many offensive rebounds and we need to do a better job of valuing possession of the ball."
Manhattan returns to the hardwood on Thanksgiving Day in an ESPN2 televised contest against Wisconsin at the 2010 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.
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