Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's basketball team dropped a 74-56 decision to Fairfield (18-8, 11-5 MAAC) on Monday at Draddy Gymnasium. Jaspers' junior guard Rico Pickett led Manhattan (9-17, 4-12) in scoring for the 17th time this season posting a game-high 18 points. The Stags' received 15 bench points from senior forward Mike Evanovich and a career-high 13 points from freshman Colin Nickerson.
Pickett got rolling early picking up where he left off in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 10 at the Arena at Harbor Yard where he exploded for 29 on points on a hot 13-for-20 shooting effort. The MAAC's leading scorer (17.8 ppg) buried two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of action to get the Jaspers out of the gate with a 6-4 lead.
Fairfield retaliated with a 23-2 run, including 16 unanswered points to take a 27-8 advantage with 8:45 left in the first half. The Stags' surge also featured a stifling defensive effort which prevented the Jaspers from scoring for over a six minute span. The scoring blitz stunned Manhattan and it was not able to recover. The Stags led by as many as 24 points in the period.
Fairfield held a 43-25 advantage at intermission and led by double-figures the entire second half. Fairfield shot 50.9% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point territory to Manhattan's 33.3% shooting mark and 26.7% 3-point conversion rate.
Manhattan played an even second half with the Stags, but could not erase any of its halftime deficit. The Jaspers pulled within 53-40 on a jumper from Brandon Adams with 10:55 left and did not get any closer. Adams finished with eight points and six rebounds. Crawford contributed eight points, nine boards and three steals in 38 minutes.
Evanovich and Nickerson combined for 28 of the Stag's 39 points off the bench, while starters Anthony Johnson (14 points, 11 rebounds) and MAAC Rookie of the Week Derek Needham (12 points, five assists) also contributed double-figure scoring efforts.
Freshman guard George Beamon and junior Nick Walsh were bright spots for the Jaspers in reserve roles. Beamon scored nine points adding a career-high seven rebounds. Walsh posted six points in 11 minutes of action. Manhattan outrebounded the Stags 35-33.
Manhattan looks to bounce back on Saturday when the Jaspers host Towson in the 2010 ESPNU BracketBuster. Tip off is slated for 2 p.m.
