Manhattan Meets Quinnipiac Sunday at Draddy Gym

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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Winners of 11 of their last 13 games, Manhattan will meet Quinnipiac in the teams' second meeting in the last three weeks. The Jaspers return from a 67-51 win over Rider on Friday night at Draddy Gymnasium behind a stifling defensive effort. In the game, Manhattan held the Broncs to 26.5 percent shooting from the field. The Jaspers forced 17 turnovers, blocked 11 shots and had nine steals in the game.

LAST TIME VS. QUINNIPIAC
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 on Thursday, January 9. Michael Alvarado registered his first career double-double in the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Shane Richards added 11 points and Ashton Pankey had 10 points in the game for Manhattan, which lost leading scorer George Beamon for the game after he suffered an injury in the first half.

HOME SWEET HOME
After the 67-51 win over Rider on Jan. 24, the Jaspers have won five straight games at home and have won nine of their last ten MAAC games at Draddy Gymnasium.

JASPERS MATCH 2012-13 WIN TOTAL
With Friday's win over Rider, the Jaspers matched last year's total and improved its record to 14-4. Last season, the Jaspers won 14 games on its way to the MAAC championship game as the sixth seed. The Jaspers posted a 21-13 record in 2011-12, the program's first year under third-year head coach Steve Masiello.

THE SERIES WITH QUINNIPIAC
The first meeting between Manhattan and Quinnipiac on January 9 was the first time the two teams had ever played in men's basketball. Quinnipiac began Division I play during the 1998-99 season and joined the MAAC prior to this season.

JASPERS ARE #8 IN MID-MAJOR POLL
In the latest Mid-Major Poll released by CollegeInsider.com on January 20, Manhattan was ranked at No. 8. The Jaspers have been ranked among the top 11 teams in the poll since the second week of the season. Manhattan has been ranked as high as fifth in the weekly poll.

ROAD WARRIORS
Through games played on Friday, January 24, the Jaspers currently are tied for tops in the nation with Michigan State and UMass with nine road/neutral site victories, going 9-2 in those games away from Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan is 8-2 in true road games this season and is tied with Stephen F. Austin for the most road wins in the nation.

SENIOR MOMENTS
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.

I'LL TAKE THAT
The Jaspers totaled nine steals on 17 forced turnovers in their win over Rider on January 24. The nine steals approached the Jaspers' season average of 9.1 per game, which tops the MAAC and ranks 13th in the country. Manhattan also ranks 50th in the country in turnover margin, forcing 2.4 more turnovers than its opponent.

BEAMON HAVING STRONG SENIOR SEASON
Manhattan senior George Beamon returned to the lineup on Friday, January 24 after missing the previous three games due to an injury suffered in the Jaspers' Jan. 9 game at Quinnipiac. Beamon had 21 points and nine rebounds against Rider and has scored 20+ points in 10 of his 15 games played this year. He also has totaled three double-doubles.

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 second in the nation in blocked shots.

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 an incredible stretch during the month of January. In the last five games, he is averaging 22.2 points per game, scored his 1,000th career point, totaled a season-high seven steals in the same game and dished out a season-high seven assists in Manhattan's victory over Rider on January 24. The seven assists against Rider moved Alvarado into a tie for seventh place on Manhattan's career assists list with Mugsy Green '02.

EMMY AWARD WINNING
Junior Emmy Andujar played well in Manhattan's 67-51 win over Rider on January 24, finishing with six points on 3-4 from the field, eight rebounds and three assists. One of those assists was a beautiful no-look feed from halfcourt to Rhamel Brown for a two-hand throwdown. That play was the #7 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day on ESPN on Friday night and Saturday morning.

STORES READY FOR BUSINESS
Junior RaShawn Stores has started the last 10 games for the Jaspers, helping Manhattan go 8-2 in that span. Stores had a strong game at Fairfield on Jan. 18, scoring nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. He grabbed five rebounds and added two steals in 36 minutes.

RICHARDS DIALS LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Shane Richards has scored in double figures in four of Manhattan's last five contests. Richards has made at least one triple in each game this year and is approaching Manhattan's top ten in career threes after just a year and a half in a Manhattan uniform.

PANKEY PROVIDING SOLID POST PLAY
Sophomore Ashton Pankey has started the last six contests for Manhattan, alongside fellow big man Rhamel Brown. He is averaging 11.0 points and 6.5 rebounds over the Jaspers' last two games. Against Rider, Pankey notched season highs in both points (11) and rebounds (seven) and blocked two shots in a strong performance.

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 13.3 minutes per game. Wilson has made 44.1 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.

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 18 games. Manhattan's 77.7 points per game rank 41st in the nation, second in the conference and is more than 19 points per game more than its average of 58.3 points per game during the 2012-13 season.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
Manhattan limited Rider to 51 points on January 24. It was the lowest scoring output for any Jasper opponent this season. Manhattan has an 8-0 record when allowing opponents to score fewer than 70 points this season.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Not only has Manhattan hit 5.9 three-pointers per game, the Jaspers have defended the three-point line well. This season, Manhattan has limited opponents to 31.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Jaspers held Rider to just one triple on Jan. 24 and have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from three-point range in all 14 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 and is quickly approaching 50 career victories on the Jaspers' sidelines. 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 49-35 overall record.

SYMMETRY
Manhattan is 7-2 in MAAC play, approaching the halfway point of the 20-game conference season. The Jaspers are also 7-2 in non-conference games this season.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Manhattan will play on ESPNU three straight Friday nights beginning on January 24. The Jaspers will take on Iona on Friday, January 31 at 9 p.m. in New Rochelle. A week later, Manhattan's game at Canisius on Friday, February 7 at 7 p.m. will also air live on ESPNU.

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 25.

MANHATTAN AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
The Jaspers are ranked among the nation's top 100 teams in several statistical categories, in games played through Thursday, January 23.

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.