Game 31: #10 Manhattan (6-24) vs. #7 Siena (12-17)
MAAC Tournament First Round
Watch Live at MAACSports.com
Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard (7,928) - Bridgeport, Conn.
Friday, March 4, 2011 at 9:30 p.m.
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News & Notes
Manhattan meets Siena in the MAAC Tournament for the fourth time in Jaspers' head coach Barry Rohrssen's five years at the helm. The Jaspers and Saints split their two regular-season meetings with each team holding serve on their home court. The programs did not meet until the last month of the regular-season when Siena took a 64-57 victory at the Times Union Center on Feb. 4. Sophomore guard George Beamon scored a game-high 17 points and freshman point guard Michael Alvarado added 15 points. Manhattan won the second meeting in Riverdale picking up an 84-81 victory, behind Beamon's career-high 35 point scoring performance. Jaspers' junior guard Kidani Brutus scored 20 points and buried five 3-pointers in the victory.
Manhattan and Siena will play their third game in 29 days on Friday on a neutral floor at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. The teams last met in Bridgeport, Conn. in the 2007 MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals with Siena edging Manhattan 75-72. Devon Austin led Manhattan with 19 points, while Saints' guard Kenny Hasbrouck led all players with 20 points.
Beamon and Alvarado earned All-MAAC honors as announced on Monday. Beamon was selected to the 2011 All-MAAC Third Team and Alvarado received a spot on the All-Rookie Team, as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Alvarado was also named MAAC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. The local product from the Bronx averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 assists and shot 50% from the field in the Jaspers' final two games of the regular-season.
Scouting Report
Manhattan (6-24, 3-15 MAAC)
Manhattan enters the 2011 MAAC Basketball Tournament facing the tall task of winning four games in four days to be crowned conference champion for the fourth time in program history. Sophomore guard George Beamon enters the postseason with a hot shooting hand. The 2011 All-MAAC Third Team selection averaged 23.8 points and shot 52.1% from the field in the final five games of the regular-season.
Beamon, a 6'4" swingman from Roslyn, N.Y., has scored 20+ points in four of the Jaspers' last five games. His scoring surge began on Feb. 13 with a career-high 35-point performance in a victory over Siena at Draddy Gymnasium. Beamon has converted 93% (40-for-43) of his free-throws during the last five game stretch.
Freshman point guard Michael Alvarado, the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week and 2011 All-MAAC Rookie Team honoree, also lifted his game over the final two contests of the regular-season. Alvarado averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 assists and shot 50% from the field during this stretch. He recorded 23 points at Canisius on Friday, which marked his third 20-point performance of the season. Then on Sunday, Alvarado posted his 11th double-digit scoring effort of the season with 15 points on 6-for-11 (54.5%) shooting at Niagara.
Jaspers' junior guard Kidani Brutus has been Manhattan's top shooter from downtown this season burying a team-high 60 treys, which ranks as the eighth most in the MAAC. Brutus has shot a hot 59.4% (19-32) from downtown in Manhattan's last five games, while averaging 14.2 points.
Graduate student Demetrius Jemison has anchored the Jaspers' interior production in 21 starts this season. The Birmingham, Ala. native is averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per contest.
#7 Siena (12-17, 8-10 MAAC)
Siena won two of its last three games of the regular-season, including an 81-73 victory over Marist on Sunday at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Saints' forward Ryan Rossiter posted a career-high 34 points on Senior Night.
Rossiter leads the MAAC in scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg). The 6'9" 260-pound Staten Island native has recoreded 24 double-doubles in 29 starts this season. Rossiter finished the regular-season ranked second nationally in double-doubles and rebounds. He has grabbed at least 15 rebounds in a game on 13 occasions this season.
Saints' guard Clarence Jackson ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game. Jackson is Siena's top shooting threat from beyond the arc, knocking down a team-high 46 3-pointers in 20 games this season.
Siena ranks fourth in the MAAC averaging 68.0 points per game. The Saints lead the conference in rebounding with 38.7 per contest.
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