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Highlights | Richards' 20 Points | Postgame Press Conference
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan started the second stanza on an 11-2 run and shot a blistering 58.3 percent after halftime en route posting a 79-70 win over Fairfield at Draddy Gymnasium.
Senior Emmy Andujar (Bronx, N.Y. / Rice) finished with a team-best 22 markers while junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) scored all 20 of his points points after halftime to lead the way for the Jaspers, which avenged a 14-point loss to the Stags from early December.
The 20-point performance was the 10th of the year for Andujar and the 12th of his career while Richards hit the threshold for the seventh time this season.
With the win, Manhattan improves to 13-12 and 10-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while Fairfield falls to 6-20 and 4-12 in the league.
Tied 33-33 after one period of play, the Jaspers came roaring out of halftime on an 11-2 run, fueled by nine-straight points from Richards. Andujar opened the scoring with a layup before Richards canned a three pointer. Then following one of sophomore Tyler Wilson's (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) career-high four steals, Richards penetrated the paint and finished off an old-fashioned three-point play. After Mike Kirkland momentarily answered with a jumper, Richards connected on a three off a Wilson assist in staking Manhattan to a 44-35 lead (17:06-2nd).
Fairfield would fight back and trim the deficit to 46-42 following a K.J. Rose layup only to see junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland) answer with a pair from the line before Wilson again found Richards for a three-ball. The scoring plays helped spark a momentum-changing 17-4 run that took just over three minutes and extended the lead Manhattan lead out to 63-46 with 9:34 to play. The Jaspers put points on the board on seven of their nine possessions during the spurt while putting the game out of reach.
The lead would grow to a game-high 19 at 74-55 with 3:55 to play on a pair of Richards free throws as Manhattan would go on to post a 79-70 victory while avenging an early December loss to the visitors.
The Jaspers, which entered the game fourth nationally in forced turnovers (17.0), turned Fairfield over 20 times while recording a season-high 15 steals en route to posting a whopping 26-14 advantage in points off turnovers. On the other end, Manhattan turned it over a season-low eight times after committing 21 miscues in the first meeting between the teams.
The Jaspers shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55), including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from deep, and 76.0 percent (19-of-25) from the line. The Stags, meanwhile, made good on 50.0 percent (20-of-40), including 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from deep, and 85.2 percent (23-of-27) from the line.
Joining Andujar and Richards in double-figures was Pankey, who finished with 17 points and a game-high six rebounds. Wilson was outstanding off the bench for the second-straight game with six assists, against no turnovers, and four steals over 20 minutes. Over his last two games, he has notched 13 assists, against just one turnover, while helping lead the second unit. Rounding out the top performers was freshman Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Fayetteville Academy), who scored a career-high matching eight points in just 12 minutes.
For Fairfield, Gilbert paced all scorers with 24 points while Tyler Nelson added 14.
Manhattan returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Siena with opening tip tabbed for 7 p.m.
