Manhattan University Athletics

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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Winners of five straight games and seven consecutive games away from Draddy Gymnasium, Manhattan will meet Buffalo in its annual Barclays Center appearance on Saturday at 3 p.m in the first game of the Brooklyn Holiday Hoops Invitational. 

NICE START
Manhattan's 8-2 record is its best nine-game start to a season since the 2001-02 campaign. That Jasper team was 9-1 after its first 10 games on its way to a 12-1 start to that season.

THE SERIES WITH BUFFALO
Manhattan won its last meeting with Buffalo, 65-64, last season in Buffalo on February 23, 2013. In that game, Shane Richards scored 14 points and RaShawn Stores had 13 off the bench for the Jaspers as Manhattan hung on for the road win in its final BracketBusters game.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Jaspers currently lead the nation with six road victories, going 6-0 in those games away from Draddy Gymnasium. Here is the list of Division I teams with four or more road victories against Division I teams, through games played on December 15.

FIVE ALIVE
Manhattan's current five-game win streak is its longest since the Jaspers ripped off eight straight victories from January 8 to February 2, 2012 in Steve Masiello's first season on the Manhattan sidelines. 

LIFE BEGINS AT 70
During the offseason, head coach Steve Masiello preached a faster pace to his team. That has resulted in final scores above 70 points in nine of Manhattan's first 10 games, including Tuesday's 86-68 rout over South Carolina at the Colonial Life Area in Columbia. 

BROWN BLOCKING BEAUTIFULLY
Part of Manhattan's increased defensive production has been the play of Rhamel Brown in the paint. In Manhattan's win vs. Monmouth on Sunday, December 8, Brown blocked eight shots in the game and altered a number of other shots from in close. The eight blocks weren't even his season high. That came on Nov. 26 vs. Fordham when Brown blocked nine shots, setting a program record for blocked shots in a single game. The all-time leader in blocked shots in Manhattan history, Brown ranks second all-time in MAAC history with 289 blocked shots. Through December 19, Brown ranks sixth in the nation with 4.2 blocked shots per game. 

I'LL TAKE THAT
The Jaspers' 11 steals at South Carolina on Tuesday night were a season high for the team. Manhattan is averaging 10 steals per game over its last four games and currently ranks among the top 75 teams in the nation in thefts.

JASPERS MOVE UP TO #10 IN MID-MAJOR POLL
In the latest Mid-Major Poll released by CollegeInsider.com on December 9, Manhattan was ranked No. 10, the highest it has been ranked this year. The Mid-Major Poll is selected by coaches from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Of the 13 players on the Manhattan roster, nine hail from the greater New York metropolitan area, including eight from the five boroughs of New York City. The Jaspers also have players from New Jersey (Carlton Allen), Kentucky (Donovan Kates), Illinois (CJ Jones) and California (Adam Lacey). Below are the nine players from the New York City area and their respective high schools. Five Jaspers hail from the Bronx.

BEAMON IS BACK
Manhattan senior George Beamon has had a terrific start to the season, averaging 21.2 points per game, including seven games in which he has scored 20 or more points. Not only does Beamon rank seventh on Manhattan's all-time scoring list, he also has 511 rebounds in his career. He is 10 points away from becoming the sixth player in Jasper history to total 1500 points and 500 rebounds in a career.

RHAMEL'S BLOCK PARTY
Senior Rhamel Brown has had a strong stretch recently. He has scored in double figures in five of his last seven games and has blocked at least two shots in each of Manhattan's 10 games this season. The Jaspers' all-time leader in blocked shots, Brown ranks second among all MAAC players in conference history. He is closing in on becoming the second player in conference history with 300 blocked shots.

MANHATTAN AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Through Sunday, Dec. 15, the Jaspers are ranked among the national leaders in several categories.

AWESOME ALVARADO
Manhattan senior Michael Alvarado is averaging 14.2 points and 4.4 assists in his last five games, including a 20-point performance in Manhattan's 86-68 win at South Carolina on Tuesday. This season, Alvarado has a 1.6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, leading the team with 41 assists.

EMMY AWARD WINNING
Junior Emmy Andujar has averaged 9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his last three games. Andujar had a terrific all-around performance in the win at UNC Wilmington on Dec. 15, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

STORES READY FOR BUSINESS
Junior RaShawn Stores has started the last two games for the Jaspers and contributed 36 strong minutes in the victory at UNC Wilmington on Dec. 15. In that 77-72 Manhattan win, Stores finished with six points, four assists with just one turnover and three steals.

KATES SOLID OFF THE BENCH
Junior Donovan Kates has provided a steady presence off the Manhattan bench this season. In a season-high 26 minutes at South Carolina, Kates had six points, all on made free throws. This season, Kates is shooting 95 percent from the charity stripe, making 19 of 20.

RICHARDS DIALS LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Shane Richards is averaging 7.7 points per game off the bench and shooting 39.7 percent from three-point range this season. The sophomore sharpshooter matched his career high earlier this season with 19 points in the Jaspers' Nov. 12 win at Columbia.

PANKEY PROVIDING SOLID POST PLAY
Sophomore Ashton Pankey had one of his best games as a Jasper in Manhattan's 86-68 win at South Carolina on Tuesday. Pankey finished with nine points, five rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots in 24 minutes.

MR. JONES
Sophomore CJ Jones has provided a spark in the Jaspers' backcourt early this season. He has a 1.5:1 assist to turnover ratio and his steady defense has helped limit opposing backcourts.

RICHLY DESERVED
Freshman Rich Williams has started the last five games for Manhattan, coinciding with the Jaspers' five-game win streak. On Tuesday at South Carolina, Williams ran into early foul trouble but still made all four of his field goals for nine points in seven minutes.

HEY, MISTER WILSON
Freshman Tyler Wilson had a breakout game in Manhattan's 75-66 victory over Monmouth on Dec. 8. In that game, Wilson scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field in 22 minutes. Wilson got to the basket at will and helped keep Manhattan in the game with nine first-half points.

JASPERS VS. THE SEC
Manhattan's win at South Carolina was its first against an SEC program since March 18, 2004 when the 12th-seeded Jaspers defeated Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 75-60.

FIRST TO 40
Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello earned his 40th career victory in Manhattan's 70-59 win at Marist on December 6. Masiello is the fastest Manhattan coach to reach 40 victories since Fran Fraschilla won his 40th game late in his second season on the Manhattan sidelines in 1994.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Not only has Manhattan hit 6.3 three-pointers per game, the Jaspers have defended the three-point line well. This season, Manhattan has limited opponents to 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Jaspers have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from three-point range in all seven of their victories this season.

MANHATTAN ATOP MAAC POLL
The Jaspers were picked atop the 2013-14 MAAC preseason poll, as voted by the conference's 11 head coaches. Defending champion Iona was picked second, followed by Canisius, Rider, Marist, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Niagara, Saint Peter's, Siena and Monmouth.

MANHATTAN INKS FOUR IN CLASS OF 2018
Manhattan College men's basketball coach Steve Masiello and his staff have inked four standout incoming student-athletes during the NCAA early signing period. Nazareth (N.Y.) high school teammates Samson Akilo, a 6-foot-8 forward, and Samson Usilo, a 6-foot-4 wing, will join the Jaspers along with 6-foot-8 wing Calvin Crawford (Middletown, N.Y.) and 6-foot-9 wing Zane Waterman (Fayetteville, N.C.) in a highly regarded Manhattan class of 2018. "It's a very important class, losing three seniors in Michael Alvarado, George Beamon and Rhamel Brown, who mean a great deal to this program," Masiello said. "We wanted to have a very strong class overall to really complement what we have on this team. I give a ton of credit to our staff, especially Rasheen Davis and Mathiew Wilson, for their help in recruiting this excellent group of young men."

NEW FACES, OLD PLACES
There are two new, but familiar faces, on the Manhattan sidelines this season. Mathiew Wilson, formerly the director of basketball operations, was promoted to an assistant coach position on Steve Masiello's staff over the summer. Masiello then brought in former colleague Mike Bramucci to fill the director of operations slot. Bramucci and Masiello coached together at Manhattan College from 2001-03.

Roberto Colonette, a 2013 Manhattan College graduate and two-year letterwinner, is also on the staff this season as the team's strength and conditioning coach. Colonette is currently enrolled in the Manhattan College School of Continuing and Professional Studies, pursuing his Master's degree in organizational leadership.

FLORES NAMED TO MAAC HONOR ROLL
Former Manhattan standout Luis Flores '04 will be part of the MAAC Honor Roll, at the Basketball Hall of Fame, joining other Jasper greats Keith Bullock '93 and Jack Powers '58, who were inducted in the last two years. Flores is recognized as one of the greatest players in Manhattan College history, and helped engineer one of the greatest wins in school history. He scored 26 points to lead 12th-seeded Manhattan to a 75-60 victory over fifth-seeded Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2004.

BROWN, MAHONEY INDUCTED INTO MC HALL OF FAME
Former Manhattan greats Durelle Brown '01 and Charles Mahoney '75 were recently inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame. Brown ranks among the top 10 in field goals made and field goal percentage in a career. Fourth on the all-time points list with 1,634, Brown was also dominant on the boards, pulling down 6.1 per game in his junior and senior years. He was named first team All-MAAC during his junior and senior years and All-Metropolitan second team in 2000-01. Mahoney set a Manhattan career assist record of 394 in only three years. The high school New York State Tournament State Championship MVP, Mahoney scored 389 points as a freshman and added 904 during his varsity years for a total of 1,293 points. Coaches and sportswriters alike considered Charlie one of the best point guards in the metropolitan area.

JASPERS ON TV IN 2013-14
Manhattan will have at least eight games on television in 2013-14, beginning with the January 9th game at Quinnipiac on SNY. All remaining home games and select road contest will be available on JasperVision.TV in high definition:

NEW LOOK MAAC
This season marks the first time since the 1997-98 season that the MAAC has a different conference alignment. Loyola left the MAAC for the Patriot League at the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year and was replaced by former Northeast Conference members Monmouth and Quinnipiac. As a result of the league's expansion from 10 to 11 schools, the conference schedule was also expanded. Each team will now play 20 MAAC games per season, up from 18.　

MAAC TOURNAMENT CHANGES
With the addition of Monmouth and Quinnipiac bringing conference membership to 11 schools, the MAAC Tournament will have a new format this season. The top five teams at the conclusion of the regular season will have a bye into the quarterfinals, while the remaining six teams will play first-round games on March 6. There will be a day off before the quarterfinals that begin on March 8, followed by the semifinals on March 9. The MAAC Championship game on Monday, March 10, will once again be nationally televised on ESPN2. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN3.

BACK TO ALBANY
The 2014 MAAC Tournament will be held at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., for the third consecutive year from March 6-10. This marks the final year in which the tournament will be held in Springfield. In 2015, the event returns to its former home - the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.

WHAT'S A JASPER?
The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach.

Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan College baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890s at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the “seventh inning stretch” spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.

WATCH AND LISTEN ON GOJASPERS.COM
For the 16th year, Manhattan College men's basketball games will be broadcast live over the internet on GoJaspers.com. Manhattan College Hall of Famer Brian Mahoney returns as the color analyst, along side play-by-play broadcaster Christian Heimall. Each broadcast will begin with the “Steve Masiello Pre-Game Report” 15 minutes prior to tipoff.

108TH SEASON OF JASPERS BASKETBALL
In its 108th season, the Manhattan College men's basketball program boasts a 1283-1148 overall record and 243-270 MAAC mark in 33 seasons as a conference member. The Jaspers storied men's basketball team was established in 1904-05 and served a two-year hiatus during the 1943-44 and 1944-45 season due to World War II.