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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan (1-1; 1-1 MAAC) returns to action with pair of games against Marist (3-1; 1-1 MAAC). The teams will play on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 with each tilt starting at 2:00 pm and airing on
ESPN3.
Schedule Change
* The teams were originally slated to meet in early January, but adjusted their season series due to a positive Covid19 team within the Quinnipiac program.
* As a result, the Bobcats series in Hamden has been pushed to the Covid19 make-up weekend in late February.
Ant-Man Strikes
* Junior
Ant Nelson averaged 23.0 ppg last week en route to winning MAAC Player of the Week honors in his Jasper debut.
* Nelson also averaged 3.5 rpg and 3.0 apg, while shooting 71.4 percent from the floor, 85.7 percent from deep and sank all 10 of his free throws.
* The Seton Hall transfer scored 19 points in the opener, before notching a career-high 27 points with six rebounds and four assists in the finale.
The Worldwide Leader
* For the second-straight season all of Manhattan's MAAC games will air on the
ESPN family of networks. Most games will air on
ESPN3 or
ESPN+, with
ESPN3 games able to be accessed through a cable subscription, and
ESPN+ a standalone subscription to
ESPN.
* Manhattan's game with Fairfield at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday, February 5 has been flexed to national television and will air on
ESPNU at 9:00 pm. This marks the second-straight season that the Jaspers will host an
ESPNU affair, besting Niagara 77-59 this past February.
Coach Masiello Quick Hits
*
Steve Masiello set a school record the last time out with his 69th career win at Draddy Gym.
* With one more win, Masiello (141) will match legendary Manhattan student-athlete, coach and admin Jack Powers (142) for the third-most wins in program history.
* Masiello, who inked a three-year extension in February, is the longest tenured MAAC Coach in this his 10th year and led the Jaspers to back-to-back MAAC Championships in 2014 and 2015.
* He is in his 25th season as a player, assistant or a head coach, and holds a career record of 502-296 (.629).
Player Notes
* Junior
Elijah Buchanan averaged 14.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 2.0 bpg last weekend, highlighted by a career-high 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the finale against Rider.
* Nelson and Buchanan each hit for 20 points, marking the first time the Jaspers had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Zavier Turner and Rich Williams in a 92-86 victory over Quinnipiac on February 25, 2018.
* Buchanan is also averaging a MAAC-best 3.5 offensive rebounds per game.
* Junior
Jason Douglas-Stanley also notched double-figures in scoring last weekend, chipping in with 12.5 ppg, highlighted by a career-high 14 points in the opener against the Broncs.
* JUCO transfer
Nick Brennen snared six rebounds with a team-best three assists in the opener, while fellow JUCO transfer
Marques Watson added 10 points , before recording four assists and three rebounds in Saturday's victory.
* The newcomer fivesome of Brennen,
Samba Diallo, Douglas-Stanley, Nelson and Watson accounted for 62.9 percent of the scoring, 48.3 percent of the rebounding and 66.7 percent of the assists over the season's first two games against Rider.
* Preseason All-MAAC Second Team selection junior
Warren Williams notched double-figures for the 28th time in his career in Saturday's victory, finishing with 10 points, to go along with five rebounds and two blocks.
* Diallo (UMass), Douglas-Stanley (George Mason) and Nelson (Seton Hall) all were granted waivers for immediate eligibility from the NCAA in the preseason.
* Diallo averaged 6.7 ppg and 5.9 rpg with 10 double-digit scoring performances and three double-doubles a year ago for the Minutemen.
* Douglas-Stanley was a standout at nearby Mount Vernon High School, before playing two years at George Mason.
* Nelson helped the Pirates to a berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the 2020 Big East Co-Regular Season Championship and 41 victories over his two seasons in South Orange.
* Brennen, who transferred in from Harcum College, is the fourth product from the Keystone State institution in the last four years, and the third Iona Prep product (
Romar Reid, Thomas Capuano) under Masiello.
* Watson, meanwhile, prepped at Miami Dade College, following a year at Iowa Western CC.
About Marist
* Last season, the teams split their two match-ups, with the Jaspers posting a nine-point victory at Draddy, after losing a two-point overtime thriller in Poughkeepsie.
* The Red Foxes are off to their best start in recent memory, sweeping a home-and-home series with Binghamton, before splitting last week's MAAC-opening series at Canisius. Michael Cubbage is averaging a team-best 11.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg, while Rheim Sullivan is also notching double-figures at 10.5 ppg.
* Last Year Against The Red Foxes, Williams averaged 10.0 ppg and Stewart 9.5 ppg.
Preseasons Are For Polls
* Manhattan was slated to finish fifth in the annual MAAC Preseason Poll, and returns 10 letterwinners, two starters, 46.2 percent of its scoring and 32.2 percent of its rebounding.
* Williams was named to the preseason All-MAAC Second Team after a solid second year in Riverdale. He averaged 8.3 ppg, including 9.7 ppg during league play, and scored in double-figures 11 times, while pacing the squad on five occasions.
* Williams ranked third in the MAAC in field goal percentage last year, and his combined .572 mark the last two seasons is tops in the MAAC.
* Junior
Samir Stewart is the top returning scorer for Manhattan after averaging 8.4 ppg, to go along with 3.0 apg (10th MAAC), with the Jaspers going 16-3 when Stewart has notched double-figures in scoring during his career.
More Mas
* Under Masiello, the Jaspers are 58-11 (.841) when holding teams to less than 60 points, 46-15 (.754) when registering double-figures in steals and 28-14 (.667) when turning the opposition over at least 20 times.
* Entering last year, Masiello was one of just nine active Division I coaches with a National Title as a player. He is also one of seven coaches that is 43 or younger with two conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tourney, and has posted a school-record 11 MAAC Tournament wins.
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 141-150 (.485) record, including going 89-85 (.511) during MAAC play. At Draddy Gym, he is 69-45 (.605), including 54-33 (.621) vs. league opposition, while going 12-9 (.571) in overtime games. He has won two MAAC Championships, advanced to the title game three times and claimed two Metropolitan Coach of the Year awards with a pair of 20-win campaigns. Masiello has also participated in the NCAA Tourney in 13 of his 24 full seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Title.
* In his first tenure as an assistant, Masiello was a part of two MAAC titles and three 20-plus win seasons. All told, Masiello has been a member of four of Manhattan's five MAAC Championship teams and five of the school's 12 20-win seasons in recording a combined 224-186 (.546) record.
Meet The Staff
* Masiello is joined on the bench by
Matt Grady,
RaShawn Stores,
Doug Thibault,
Jon Mangel and
Tyler Wilson. Grady is in his 10th year, Stores his fifth, Thibault his third, Mangel his second and Wilson his fourth.
Last Year
* Last season, Manhattan again ranked among the NCAA leaders in scoring defense (64.2 ppg-40th), turnovers forced (14.9-60th), blocks (4.0 bpg-76th), offensive rebounds (11.1-82nd), steals (7.0 spg-99th) and field goal percentage defense (.418-107th).
* Manhattan turned Quinnipiac and Delaware State each over 25 times last year, while also matching the most forced turnovers by a Masiello-coached team.
* The Jaspers also overcome second half double-digit deficits in victories over UAlbany, at Elon and at Fordham.
What Is 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 baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming 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 1890's 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.
This Is Manhattan College
* Why is Manhattan College in the Bronx? Our campus was originally located in Manhattan at the intersection of 131st Street and Broadway. In 1923, Manhattan College moved to its present Riverdale location in order to accommodate a growing student body. But with more than 60 years of history established as Manhattan College, the institution decided to retain the name despite the geographic misnomer.
* 17 alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
* Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
This Is Manhattan Basketball
* Manhattan has three wins in NCAA Tournament play, defeating West Virginia (1958), Oklahoma (1995) and Florida (2004).
* The Jaspers have won five MAAC Tournament titles in the last 25 years (1993, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015).
* Manhattan received an at-large berth in 1995 and defeated Oklahoma before falling to Arizona State.
* Was the first team in NCAA history to a win a game in Europe, defeating Holy Cross 70-54 on December 1, 2017 as part of the inaugural Belfast Classic.
