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Highland Heights, KY - Sophomore
Nehemiah Mack (Harrisburg, PA / Massanutten Academy (VA)) scored nine of his 11 points in the final four minutes to lift Manhattan to a gutsy 55-53 comeback win over Coastal Carolina in the first game of the KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic at the BB&T Arena.
With the Jaspers down by six points and just under four minutes remaining, sophomore
Ebube Ebube (San Juan Puerto Rico / Lawrenceville Academy (NJ)) grabbed a huge offensive rebound before kicking it out to Mack, who canned a triple to bring Manhattan to within three.
With the Jaspers still down by three with less than two minutes to play, Ebube cleaned up another huge offensive rebound and Mack again delivered a triple to tie it up at 52-52 with 1:31 remaining.
The teams would each split a pair of free throws at the line, before Mack pulled down a clutch defensive rebound and following a timeout, drove to the lane and got fouled. Mack made the ensuing free throws and the Jasper defense held firm at the end to give Kelly Green & White its first win of the season while the Chanticleers fall to 2-2.
For Manhattan, the victory represented a valiant comeback that saw the Jaspers erase a 13-point deficit with 9:38 to play while holding Coastal Carolina without a field goal during that time (0-for-8).
Offensively, junior
Tyler Reynolds (Syracuse, NY / Harcum College) scored 12 points, on four three pointers, while Mack had 11 points with three assists and three steals to pace the double-figure scorers for the Jaspers. Defensively, Ebube finished up with a career-high 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, while adding a personal-best nine points.
Coastal Carolina's Zach Culbertson scored a game-high 12 points, but was limited to just 1-for-6 shooting, while grabbing nine rebounds in a losing effort.
Notes
* With the win, Head Coach
Steve Masiello now has 200 career wins at Manhattan, including 117 as a Head Coach and 83 as an assistant, over a combined 12 seasons on the sidelines.
* The bench outscored the starters for the third-straight game to start the season by a 33-22 count.
* Senior
Thomas Capuano (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY / Iona Prep) had seven points and two steals.
* Manhattan shot just 39.0 percent (16-of-41) from the field, but was a blistering 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from long range.
* The Jaspers erased a 13-point second-half deficit for the second-straight season, after rallying for a double-overtime win at Marist last January.
* Mack's 11 points are a career-high, bettering his previous high of 10 set in the opener against Elon.
* In the first half, Manhattan gained its largest advantage of the evening at 30-20 before entering halftime up four.
* Reynolds scored all 12 of his points in the opening stanza, going a perfect 4-for-4 from deep.
* Coastal Carolina took its largest lead of the game at 48-35 with 9:38 to play thanks to scoring 15-straight points.
* The Chanticleers shot just 33.3 percent (14-of-42), including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from long range.
* Manhattan went to the line 28 times after attempting just 18 in its first two games.
* Thanks to Ebube, the Jaspers won the rebounding battle by a 36-35 count, including 10-9 on the offensive end.
* Manhattan is averaging 17.0 forced turnovers per game this year after pressuring Coastal Carolina into 16 miscues.
Up Next
* The Jaspers will square off with Northern Kentucky on Saturday, November 17 at 7:00 pm.
