Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Jaspers were clicking on all cylinders on Sunday as Manhattan put on its top scoring performance of the season to earn an 84-81 victory over Siena (10-15, 7-8 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. Sophomore guard George Beamon put an end to the Saints' seven game winning streak in the series by scoring a career-high 35 points on 12-for-19 shooting and a perfect 10-for-10 performance at the free-throw line. Junior guard Kidani Brutus was Beamon's wingman setting a career-high with 20 points on five 3-pointers.
"These guys played hard and that is something we are very proud of," explained Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen. "We needed a good game here at home and they earned this one today."
Manhattan (5-21, 3-12 MAAC) led by as many as 18 points in the wire-to-wire victory. Although, the Saints made it interesting in the final two minutes by cutting the deficit to single digits when sophomore guard Jonathan Breeden scored nine consecutive points as part of his team-high 20 point effort.
After a pair of free-throws by Mohamed Koita to make it a 81-75 contest, Siena guard Kyle Downey made it a one possession game with a 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go. On the ensuing Jaspers' possession, Brutus knocked down one of two free-throw attempts, but it was followed by senior guard Clarence Jackson's third 3-pointer of the game cutting Manhattan's lead to 82-81 with 23 seconds on the clock.
The Jaspers got a break when Siena junior OD Anosike had a costly turnover after two missed free-throws by Demetrius Jemison, which gave Manhattan a second chance to put the game away with two more free-throws coming from Brutus to go up by thee points with 18 ticks left. Brutus shot 5-for-8 from 3-point territory and was 5-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Manhattan defended the Saints potential game-tying 3-point opportunity well as Siena forward Ryan Rossiter had a tough look from the corner which bounced off the top of the backboard. Anosike's last second shot off the rebound fell short as Manhattan escaped.
Rossiter (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Anosike (11 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with double-doubles.
Manhattan carried a 33-26 advantage at halftime and offset Siena's 55 second half points, scoring 51 points of its own in the final 20 minutes. Beamon had 16 points of his career night in the first half. His 35 points were the most in a contest by a Jasper since Chris Smith scored 35 points on Dec. 14, 2008 in a win over Princeton.
"You know he is always going to be that guy who gets to the hoop and gets points," said Rohrssen on Beamon's performance. "It was good to see him have a game like this, and we just hope he continues to work hard."
The Jaspers shot a sweltering 50.9% (28-55) from the field, converted 50% (7-for-14) of its 3-pointers and went 21-for-28 (75%) from the free-throw line. Manhattan got eight points and a team-high nine rebounds out of Jemison. Freshman forward Rhamel Brown had eight rebounds and four points, while junior center Djibril Coulibaly led the Manhattan bench with eight points and five rebounds.
Siena also received double digit scoring efforts from senior guard Clarence Jackson (13 points). The Saints shot 41.8% (28-67) from the field and just 62.1% (18-29) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan carries momentum into its Wednesday night contest with Iona at Draddy Gymnasium. Prior to the 7 p.m. tip-off the Jaspers will recognize its senior class.
