Manhattan Continues MAAC Play vs. Monmouth Sunday at Draddy

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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Fresh off a 70-59 conference-opening victory at Marist on Friday night, the Jaspers return to MAAC play vs. Monmouth at Draddy Gym on Sunday. Manhattan has won its first five road games to open the season, something the Jaspers have not done in more than 40 years. 

THE SERIES WITH MONMOUTH
Manhattan and Monmouth will meet for the first time as conference rivals on Sunday. The two teams have not met since December 23, 1996, when the Hawks defeated the Jaspers 76-55 in New Jersey. Manhattan holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, which began in the 1988-89 season. 

BACK TO D
In their last two games, the Jaspers have held their opponents to 59 points. In its first five games, Manhattan's opponents had scored at least 70 points. 

MANHATTAN IN THE MAAC
The Jaspers reached last year's MAAC championship game, falling to Iona by a score of 60-57. Manhattan has won three MAAC titles (1993, 2003, 2004) in program history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times (1993, 1995, 2003, 2004) as a member of the conference. 

JASPERS IN MAAC HOME OPENERS
In its first MAAC home game during the last 12 years, Manhattan is 9-3. The Jaspers have won its last two MAAC home openers under head coach Steve Masiello.

FIRST TO 40
Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello earned his 40th career victory in Manhattan's 70-59 win at Marist on Friday night. 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.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
Manhattan committed just eight turnovers in the win at Hofstra on Saturday, November 30. It was the second straight game in which the Jaspers committed fewer than 10 turnovers.

LIFE BEGINS AT 70
During the offseason, head coach Steve Masiello preached a faster pace to his team and that has resulted in final scores above 70 points in six of Manhattan's first seven games, including Friday's 70-59 victory at Marist.

 I'LL TAKE THAT
The Jaspers' 10 steals at Marist on Friday were a season high for the team. Manhattan forced 17 Marist turnovers in the game.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Not only has Manhattan hit 6.7 three-pointers per game, the Jaspers have defended the three-point line well. This season, Manhattan has limited opponents to 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Jaspers have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from three-point range in all five of their victories this season.

WALK THE LINE
Manhattan is shooting 71.4 percent from the foul line this season, an improvement over its 66.2 percent average during the 2012-13 campaign.

JASPERS STAND AT #11 IN MID-MAJOR POLL
In the latest mid-major poll released by CollegeInsider.com on December 2, Manhattan checked in at No. 11, the highest ranked MAAC team in the poll. 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 21.7 points per game, including six double-digit scoring efforts. Beamon currently ranks ninth on Manhattan's all-time scoring list, just 13 points behind former teammate Darryl Crawford '10.

RHAMEL'S BLOCK PARTY
Senior Rhamel Brown has averaged 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots over his last four games. On Friday at Marist, Brown made six of nine field goals to finish with 12 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. The five blocks pushed Brown into second place on the MAAC's career blocked shots list. Brown has blocked at least two shots in each game this season.

MANHATTAN AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Through Monday, Dec. 2, the Jaspers are ranked among the national leaders in several categories.

AWESOME ALVARADO
Manhattan senior Michael Alvarado is averaging 20.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds over his last two games, both of which were wins for Manhattan. Alvarado has made a number of key baskets down the stretch in each game. On Friday at Marist, Alvarado made 10 of 12 free throws to help seal the first conference win for the Jaspers. 

EMMY AWARD WINNING
So far this season, junior Emmy Andujar is shooting 51.4 percent from the field, averaging 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Andujar also ranks third on the team in assists (12) and steals (seven). 

STORES READY FOR BUSINESS
RaShawn Stores has had a solid start to his junior season, providing an assist-turnover ratio of 1.9:1 with a team-leading nine steals. He is second on the team with 17 assists.

KATES SOLID OFF THE BENCH
Junior Donovan Kates has provided a steady presence off the Manhattan bench this season. In Manhattan's last four games, Kates is averaging six points per game in 18.3 minutes. This season, he has made 13 of 14 from the foul line.

RICHARDS DIALS LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Shane Richards is averaging 8.9 points per game off the bench and shooting 43.2 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 BACK ON THE COURT
Sophomore Ashton Pankey posted his season high with 10 points off the bench in Manhattan's 66-59 win over Hofstra on Nov. 30. Pankey made all four of his shots from the field and added a blocked shot.

MR. JONES
Sophomore CJ Jones has started the last four games for Manhattan. Jones handed out three assists without a turnover in Friday's victory at Marist and carries a 1.8:1 assist-turnover ratio this season. 

WELCOME FRESHMEN
Freshmen Rich Williams and Tyler Wilson have had strong efforts off the bench in Manhattan's last three contests. Williams made his first collegiate start at Hofstra on Nov. 30 and scored nine points in 15 minutes. He made four of six shots from the field, including the only three-pointer he attempted. On Nov. 26 vs. Fordham, Wilson scored five points, including a pretty driving layup, to go along with a pair of assists in 12 minutes.

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 with the addition of its 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.