Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Sophomore swingman George Beamon scored a team leading 16 points, but the Manhattan men's basketball dropped its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener to Rider 88-59 Thursday at Draddy Gymnasium. Robert Martina scored a season-high 14 points for the Jaspers and Michael Alvarado chipped in with nine points. Rider (5-3, 1-1 MAAC) was led by Brandon Penn's 26 points, while Broncs' big men Mike Ringgold (14) and Novar Gadson (13) each added double-figures.
Manhattan (2-5, 0-1 MAAC) trailed by as many as 28 in the second half, but used a 15-1 run to cut the margin to 61-45 when Martina scored on a tip-in with 12:10 remaining. Beamon posted nine points during the spurt.
Rider responded with Anthony Myles' dunk that help start a 10-2 Broncs' run and pushed the lead back to 71-49 with 6:54 left. Rider's 3-point shooting was a major factor in the game, they shot 10-of-19 (52.6%), while Manhattan went 1-of-12 (8.3%) from three-point land.
"They are a good shooting team and showed that tonight," said Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen.
Manhattan committed 17 turnovers and Rider capitalized by scoring 20 points off of the miscues. Penn and Stewart each had three steals for the Broncs. Manhattan forced 12 turnovers and Alvarado collected a pair of steals.
"We turned the ball over too frequently," said Rohrssen. "It gave them some momentum and you could tell it was the difference in the game."
Manhattan fell behind 20-9 nearly six minutes into the first half, but battled back with a 16-4 run to take a 25-24 lead with 9:27 before intermission. Nick Walsh scored all seven of his points during the run, including the 3-pointer which gave the Jaspers their only lead of the contest.
Rider answered back with a 21-4 run to close out the first half. The Broncs carried a 45-29 advantage into the break.
Rider slightly won the battle of the boards, 29-28. The Broncs outscored Manhattan 38-28 in the paint and dished out a game-high 23 assists.
Manhattan returns to the hardwood on Saturday in Jersey City, N.J. against local conference rival Saint Peter's. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
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