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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Senior Emmy Andujar (Bronx, N.Y. / Rice) scored 17 of his team-high 19 points after halftime while junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland) notched his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Manhattan in a 65-56 loss to Pittsburgh at the Peterson Events Center.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 7-3 while the Jaspers fall to 2-7.
Manhattan struggled out of the gates, turning the ball over on 10 of its first 11 possessions, but trailed just 11-2 before senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, N.Y. / Robinson School (N.J.)) hit a floater and junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) a three pointer to get the offense going and make it an 11-7 game at the second media timeout (10:54).
The Jaspers would trim the deficit to two at 20-18 with 4:09 to play in the opening half following a Tyler Wilson (So., Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) layup. Pitt would respond with four-straight points en route to take a 26-21 lead at the break.
Despite committing 12 turnovers and going just 1-for-5 at the line in the opening stanza, Manhattan trailed by just five at intermission thanks to making good on 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from the field and using a 12-10 advantage in the paint.
After playing just one minute against Rutgers, freshman Calvin Crawford (Middletown, N.Y. / St. Thomas More (Conn.)) made his presence felt with a half-high seven points off the bench while helping ignite a slow-starting Jasper offense.
After halftime, the Pitt lead would grow to a game-high 16 on two occasions before Manhattan made its final push with just over four minutes to play.
Richards and freshman Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Fayetteville Academy) each hit three pointers, before sophomore Rich Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Vermont Academy (Vt.)) converted a layup off a steal and Andujar made good on two free throws to cap a 10-2 run while trimming deficit to eight at 57-49 with 3:21 to play.
Jamel Artis finally stopped the bleeding for Pittsburgh with a jumper but it was unable to stop the Jasper attack. Manhattan would not go away and got to within seven at 59-52 following an Andujar layup with 1:50 to play, but was unable to get any closer in dropping the 65-56 decision.
The Jaspers shot a solid 47.7 percent (21-for-44) from the floor but allowed the Panthers to make good on 51.1 percent (23-for-45) while both teams grabbing exactly 28 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
Manhattan, which has played eight of its first nine games on the road, will next host Morgan State on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
