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2009-2010 Men's Basketball Media Guide
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's basketball team travels to Baltimore on Sunday to square off with Loyola, a contest which will preview the programs' MAAC Tournament Opening Round match up next Friday in Albany, N.Y. Fans can listen to all the action live at GoJaspers.com. Tip off is schedule for 1 p.m. at Reitz Arena.
Series History
Manhattan (10-18, 4-12) and Loyola (12-16, 5-12) square off for the 47th time in series history. The programs met for the first time this season on Feb. 7 when the Greyhounds picked up a 62-56 victory at Draddy Gymnasium. Jaspers' senior Darryl Crawford and junior Rico Pickett each tallied 19 points in the setback. Loyola's balanced scoring attack, which went nine players deep, was led by Shane Walker who recorded a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Manhattan earned a 72-65 victory their last visit to Baltimore on Feb. 7, 2009, behind 17 points from center Laurence Jolicoeur. Jolicoeur nearly set a school record converting 15-of-15 free-throw attempts. As a team, the Jaspers converted 32-of-37 (86.5%) free-throws in the game.
Of Note - Manhattan has defeated Loyola in 16 of their 22 meetings in the last 10 years... this is the third straight season Manhattan will wrap up the regular-season on the road... the winner of today's game will secure the #8 seed and the loser will be the #9 seed at the 2010 MAAC Basketball Championships.
Scouting Report
MANHATTAN
Manhattan returns to the road for the first time since Feb. 12 when the Jaspers rolled to a 66-60 victory at Iona. Junior guard Rico Pickett scored eight of the Jaspers final 12 points in the last three minutes to help preserve their first road win in nearly two months. Pickett finished with a game-high 24 points and Darryl Crawford added 14. Manhattan enters this contest coming off a heartbreaking 74-72 loss to Niagara on Senior Night at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday. Senior forward Brandon Adams posted the third double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds), while Crawford (18), Pickett (15) and Antoine Pearson (13) also contributed double-figure scoring efforts. Pickett still stands as the MAAC's leading scoring entering the final game of the regular-season. The Alabama native has averaged 17.7 points and 20.7 points in MAAC contests this season. Crawford is next on the Jaspers scoring list with 14.6 points per game. He also leads the team with 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Manhattan ranks in the top-5 of the MAAC in several defensive categories: blocks (3.8 bpg), steals (7.7 spg), field goal percentage defense (41.3%). The Jaspers also lead the league with a +3.1 turnover margin.
LOYOLA
Loyola is coming off its fourth consecutive loss falling 74-62 on Friday night to Canisius in Baltimore. The Greyhounds are winless since Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7) when they earned a 62-56 victory over Manhattan in Riverdale. Loyola is led by senior guard Brett Harvey who is averaging 12.7 points in 23 games this season. Harvey leads the MAAC in free-throw shooting with an 89% season average. The Greyhounds have received solid production off the bench from junior Jamal Barney as of late. Barney, the MAAC's scoring leader in 2008-09 (18.1 ppg), is coming off a game-high 20 point and eight rebound effort versus the Griffs on Friday. He is averaging 18 points and 5.5 rebounds over the last two games. Loyola is one of the top defensive teams in the MAAC ranking second with a 39.8 field goal pct. defense and third yielding 65.4 points per game. The Greyhounds are tied for second in the conference averaging 4.4 blocks a contest.