Manhattan University Athletics

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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Winners of eight straight games and its first four conference games, Manhattan will meet Quinnipiac for the first time ever on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on SportsNet New York (SNY). It will be a matchup of two of the top teams in the MAAC. The Jaspers stand atop the league at 4-0 while Quinnipiac is one of four teams with a 3-1 MAAC record.

BEST START IN 12 YEARS
Manhattan's 11-2 record is its best start to a season since the 2001-02 team was 12-1 after its first 13 games that season.

EIGHT IS GREAT
Manhattan's current eight-game win streak matches 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. Nine straight wins for the Jaspers would mark the program's longest win streak since the 2002-03 team won 15 games in a row.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Jaspers currently lead the nation with nine road/neutral site victories, going 9-0 in those games away from Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan has won all eight of its true road games and continues to hold the best record in road games in the nation.

Of the seven schools that have at least five road victories this season, Manhattan leads the way:

JASPERS ARE #5 IN MID-MAJOR POLL
In the latest Mid-Major Poll released by CollegeInsider.com on December 30, Manhattan was ranked at No. 5, 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.

THE SERIES WITH QUINNIPIAC
This will be the first time that Manhattan and Quinnipiac will meet. The Bobcats began Division I play during the 1998-99 season and entered the MAAC this season.

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 12 of Manhattan's 13 games, including the Jaspers' 83-57 win over Fairfield on January 4. The 26-point victory was Manhattan's largest margin of victory this season and the biggest since a 94-51 win at Binghamton on December 30, 2011.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
Manhattan has limited its last two opponents – Saint Peter's (29.8%) and Fairfield (36.7%) – to less than 37% shooting from the field. The Jaspers now rank 63rd in the country in field goal percentage defense at 40.1%. Manhattan also has caused an average of 19 turnovers per game during its last three contests.

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.

JASPERS START MAAC PLAY AT 4-0
Manhattan's 4-0 start to conference play is its best start in eight years, since the 2005-06 team began MAAC play at 6-0.

BEAMON IS BACK
Manhattan senior George Beamon has had a terrific start to the season, averaging 21.6 points and 6.9 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 two shots in every game this season and currently ranks fifth in the nation with an average of four 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 closing in on becoming the second player in conference history with 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, approaching 700 during his career.

AWESOME ALVARADO
Manhattan senior Michael Alvarado had a strong all-around effort in Manhattan's 83-57 victory over Fairfield on January 4. Alvarado finished with eight points, tied a season high with six assists and had four steals in just 16 minutes of action. Alvarado's six assists moved him into a tie for ninth place in Manhattan College history in career assists, giving him 286, the same as Carey Wilson '93.

EMMY AWARD WINNING
Junior Emmy Andujar had a terrific all-around performance in Manhattan's 84-81 overtime victory over Buffalo on December 21 with nine points, a season-high six assists, a career-high four steals and four rebounds.

STORES READY FOR BUSINESS
Junior RaShawn Stores has started the last five games for the Jaspers and was perfect from the field in the 83-57 win over Fairfield on Jan. 4. In the game, Stores made a three-pointer, two free throws and dished out two assists without a turnover in 22 minutes of action.

RICHARDS DIALS LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Shane Richards finished with 13 points in Manhattan's 83-57 win over Fairfield on Jan. 4. Richards made 4-of-9 from the field, 3-of-7 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the foul line. He added three rebounds in 23 minutes.

PANKEY PROVIDING SOLID POST PLAY
Sophomore Ashton Pankey made his first start of the season in the Jan. 4 victory over Fairfield. He contributed five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes.

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 on December 17, Kates had six points, all on made free throws. This season, Kates is shooting 95 percent from the charity stripe, making 19 of 20.

RICHLY DESERVED
Freshman Rich Williams has gained an increasing amount of playing time over the last month and a half, coinciding with the Jaspers' eight-game win streak. Williams recently notched his career high with 14 points in the 83-57 rout of Fairfield on Jan. 4. In the game, Williams made 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-3 from long range and all four free throws in 18 minutes off the bench.

HEY, MISTER WILSON
Freshman Tyler Wilson handled most of the point guard duties against Buffalo on Dec. 21, finishing with six points, four assists and three steals in 32 minutes off the bench. For the season, Wilson has 19 assists and 16 turnovers, leading to a 1.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

I'LL TAKE THAT
The Jaspers' 16 steals vs. Buffalo on Dec. 21 were a season high for the team. Manhattan followed that with 11 steals at Saint Peter's on Jan. 2 and 14 against Fairfield on Jan. 4. The Jaspers are averaging 12.4 steals per game over their last five games and currently rank 18th in the nation in steals per game.

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 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Jaspers have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from three-point range in all 11 of their wins.

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 13 games over .500 in his coaching career with a 46-33 overall record.

HOME GAME ON JAN. 24 VS. RIDER ON ESPNU
ESPN announced on Monday, Jan. 6 that Manhattan's Jan. 24th game vs. Rider at Draddy Gymnasium will be televised live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. as part of the MAAC's ESPN television package. It is one of three televised home games for the Jaspers and one of eight scheduled TV games for Manhattan during the 2013-14 season.

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 2.

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.

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:

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.