Box Score
Box Score
HAMDEN, Conn. -- Quinnipiac erased a five-point Manhattan lead in the final six minutes and the Bobcats defeated the Jaspers 81-76 at the TD Bank Center in a game televised on SportsNet New York (SNY) on Thursday evening.
Manhattan led early by a score of 14-8 at the 13:06 after a pair of Michael Alvarado free throws. Despite losing leading scorer George Beamon to an injury early in the half, the Jaspers held the lead for the early part of the first half. At the 9:36 mark, Shane Richards drilled a corner three to put Manhattan ahead, 25-16.
Quinnipiac responded with a 10-0 run, capped by an Umar Shannon three-pointer, to gain its first lead of the half, 26-25 at the 6:14 mark. The lead changed hands four times after that point, but Quinnipiac ended the half on top, 39-35.
Zaid Hearst's triple at the 15:17 mark gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the game, 48-38. Michael Alvarado then took over for Manhattan, allowing his team to mount a rally. Alvarado scored 10 points in five minutes, all on drives to the hoop, to get the Jaspers within two, 57-55 with 10 minutes left.
Quinnipiac held on to a slim lead until RaShawn Stores put home a driving layup to give Manhattan a 62-61 advantage with eight minutes left. It was Manhattan's first lead since the 2:26 mark of the first half.
Manhattan stretched its lead to as many as five points, 67-62 with 6:43 remaining before Quinnipiac came back to take the lead for good. Hearst sank a three-pointer in the middle of a 9-0 run over the next two and a half minutes that gave the Bobcats a 71-67 edge.
The Jaspers trailed by as many as six in the final minutes before Shane Richards hit a three-pointer with 7.7 seconds left to make it a 79-76 game. Hearst made his two free throws to help seal the victory for Quinnipiac.
Alvarado notched his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Jaspers. Shane Richards added 11 points and Ashton Pankey had 10.
Hearst's 20 led Quinnipiac, which also received 17 points and 18 rebounds from Ike Azotam.
"Quinnipiac beat us tonight. They were the better team," head coach Steve Masiello said after the game.
The Jaspers are back in action on Sunday, January 12 against Marist at Draddy Gymnasium. Game time is at 2 p.m. Purchase tickets online or call 718-862-7795.
The annual alumni game starts the day's events at 11 a.m. At halftime of the Manhattan-Marist game, Manhattan College will honor Junius Kellogg '53, officially dedicating a plaque in his memory that will remain at Draddy Gymnasium.
NOTES:
The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for Manhattan ... the Jaspers also won eight straight games during the 2011-12 season, Steve Masiello's first at the helm ... Manhattan also had won eight straight true road games and nine consecutive games away from Draddy Gymnasium to start the season ... the Jaspers' road win streak was the longest among all Division I teams to start the season ... Manhattan scored 50 points in the paint, outscoring the Bobcats 50-16 in the paint ... Rhamel Brown blocked four shots in the game, matching his season average, which ranks fifth in the country ... each team had 22 offensive rebounds ... Manhattan committed a season-low seven turnovers.
