Manhattan University Athletics

Find SNY in Your Area | Listen Live | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter | Purchase Tickets to Upcoming Home Games

RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan has won 10 of its last 11 games and eight of its first nine road games, heading into Saturday's matchup at Fairfield in a game televised live on SNY. The game is a rematch of Manhattan's 83-57 victory over the Stags at Draddy Gymnasium two weeks ago on January 4.

The Jaspers are returning from consecutive home wins over Marist and Siena and stand atop the conference standings at 6-1.

LAST TIME VS. FAIRFIELD
Four different players scored in double figures for Manhattan and the Jaspers limited Fairfield to 36.7 percent shooting from the field in a 83-57 victory over the Stags at Draddy Gym on January 4. George Beamon led the Jaspers with 19 points, while Rich Williams posted a career-high 14. Shane Richards added 13 and Rhamel Brown had 12 for Manhattan, which won its fourth straight conference game to start MAAC play.

THE SERIES WITH FAIRFIELD
Manhattan has won the last four contests with Fairfield and holds a 49-43 advantage in the all-time series with the Stags. Manhattan's last two games at Fairfield have been played at Alumni Hall, including last season's 62-40 Manhattan win on Feb. 12, 2013. That game was delayed two days due to a snowstorm that hit the tri-state area.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Jaspers currently lead the nation with nine road/neutral site victories, going 9-1 in those games away from Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan is 8-1 in true road games this season, marking the largest number of road victories in the nation.

JASPERS ARE #7 IN MID-MAJOR POLL
In the latest Mid-Major Poll released by CollegeInsider.com on January 13, Manhattan was ranked at No. 7. The Jaspers have been ranked among the top 11 teams in the poll since the second week of the season. Manhattan had held the fifth spot in the poll for the previous two weeks.

HOME, SWEET, HOME
Manhattan's victory over Marist on January 12 was the 250th win for the men's basketball program at Draddy Gymnasium. The Jaspers have won four straight games at home and have won eight of their last nine MAAC games at Draddy Gymnasium.

BEST START IN 12 YEARS
More than halfway through the regular season, Manhattan's 13-3 record is its best start to a season since the 2001-02 team also was 13-3 at this point in the season. The 1994-95 team started its season at 14-2 on its way to a 23-2 mark during its run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

ALVARADO NETS 1,000 POINTS; BROWN CLOSING IN
Manhattan's senior class of Michael Alvarado, George Beamon and Rhamel Brown has been one of the most prolific senior classes in recent Jasper history. The trio has the chance to become the first senior class in Manhattan College history to each score 1,000 points during their careers.

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 15 of Manhattan's 16 games. Manhattan's 79.1 points per game rank 40th in the nation and is more than 20 points per game more than its average of 58.3 points per game during the 2012-13 season.

BEAMON HAVING STRONG SENIOR SEASON
Manhattan senior George Beamon has had a terrific start to the season, averaging 20.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, including nine games in which he has scored 20 or more points. For his career, Beamon has 31 games in which he has scored 20 or more. The 6-4 guard has three double-doubles to his credit this season:

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Part of Manhattan's strong defense has been the play of Rhamel Brown in the paint. Brown has blocked at least one shot in every game this season and currently ranks fourth in the nation with an average of 3.75 blocks per game.

RHAMEL'S BLOCK PARTY
The Jaspers' all-time leader in blocked shots, Rhamel Brown ranks second among all MAAC players in conference history. He is one of only two players in conference history with more than 300 blocked shots.

BOUNDING AND ASTOUNDING
Not only is Brown the Jaspers' all-time shot block king, he ranks among Manhattan's top ten in career rebounds, coming down with more than 700 rebounds during his career.

AWESOME ALVARADO
Manhattan senior Michael Alvarado has had three consecutive outstanding games. During that span, he is averaging 25.7 points per game with 12 assists and only two turnovers. During this three-game stretch, Alvarado has registered his first career double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds at Quinnipiac), his career high in points (33 points on 13-of-17 shooting vs. Marist) and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in Manhattan's win over Siena on Thursday. He also climbed into the program's top ten list in career assists and is two assists away from being one of nine Jaspers in program history to dole out 300 assists.

EMMY AWARD WINNING
Junior Emmy Andujar had a strong all-around performance in Manhattan's overtime win over Marist on Jan. 12. In 34 minutes, Andujar finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He made four of his six field goals and followed that with seven points and four assists in the win over Siena on Jan. 16.

STORES READY FOR BUSINESS
Junior RaShawn Stores has started the last eight games for the Jaspers, helping Manhattan go 7-1 in that span. Stores had a solid game vs. Marist on Jan. 12, scoring seven points with three rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes of action.

RICHARDS APPROACHING TOP 10 IN THREES
Sophomore Shane Richards is averaging 12.5 points per game in Manhattan's last four contests. He has scored in double figures in each of those four games and has made 52 percent of this shots from beyond the arc during that stretch. Richards has made at least one triple in each game this year and is approaching Manhattan's top ten in career threes.

PANKEY PROVIDING SOLID POST PLAY
Sophomore Ashton Pankey has started the last four contests for Manhattan, alongside fellow big man Rhamel Brown. Against Quinnipiac on January 9, Pankey scored 10 points in 14 minutes, adding five rebounds and two blocked shots in the game.

RICHLY DESERVED
After scoring a career-high 14 points on January 4 vs. Fairfield, freshman Rich Williams made a number of critical plays in Manhattan's 86-79 overtime win vs. Marist on January 12. His steal and breakaway dunk in the final minutes of regulation tied the game at 73-73. Williams then sank a three-pointer at the three-minute mark in overtime to give the Jaspers the lead for good. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the game against the Red Foxes.

HEY, MISTER WILSON
Freshman Tyler Wilson has had a solid first year as well, averaging 13.9 minutes per game. Wilson has made 45.2 percent of his field goals this season and has a positive assist to turnover ratio of 1.2:1.

KATES SOLID OFF THE BENCH
Junior Donovan Kates has provided a steady presence off the Manhattan bench this season. Against Siena on January 16, Kates matched his season high with 10 points in 16 minutes. Kates buried a pair of three-pointers during a 10-4 Manhattan run to close the first half, increasing the Jaspers' lead to 43-34 at intermission.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
Manhattan ranks among the nation's top 100 teams in three-point field goal percentage defense (73rd, 31.4%) and field goal percentage defense (77th, 40.8%).

I'LL TAKE THAT
The Jaspers totaled 15 steals on 23 Siena turnovers in their Jan. 16th victory over the Saints. It was the sixth time in the last eight games that Manhattan registered double figures in steals. Manhattan currently ranks 16th in the nation in steals per game at 9.1 and is 60th in the country in turnover margin at +2.3

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 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Jaspers have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from three-point range in all 13 of their wins.

WORKING OVERTIME
The 86-79 win for the Jaspers over Marist in overtime on January 12 was the third overtime win for Manhattan this season. The Jaspers had not played three overtime games since the 2005-06 season.

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. Masiello is now 14 games over .500 in his coaching career with a 48-34 overall record.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
On Wednesday, January 15, ESPN announced that Manhattan's February 7 game at Canisius will be televised live on ESPNU. That will mark the third of three consecutive Friday night games for the Jaspers on ESPNU. The first ESPNU game will air live from Draddy Gymnasium on Friday, January 24 when Manhattan hosts Rider.

JASPERS ON TV IN 2013-14
Manhattan will have at least eight games on television in 2013-14, including four televised games during the month of January. All remaining home games and select road contests will be available on JasperVision.TV in high definition. Here is the upcoming television schedule for the Jaspers, as of January 17.

MANHATTAN AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
The Jaspers are ranked among the naton's top 100 teams in several statistical categories, in games played through Thursday, January 16.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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. Former Jasper greats Brian Mahoney and Chris Williams return as the color analysts, alongside play-by-play broadcaster Christian Heimall. Each broadcast will begin with the “Steve Masiello Pre-Game Report” 15 minutes prior to tipoff.

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.

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.