Manhattan Returns To Action At Saint Peter's

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Jersey City, NJ - Winners of three in a row, Manhattan (5-4; 4-4 MAAC) will play at a pair of games at Saint Peter's (7-6; 4-4 MAAC), with each starting at 8:00 pm.

Niagara Weekend Recap
* The Jaspers swept Niagara last weekend thanks to limiting the Purple Eagles to less than 60 points in each game, while posting a +9.5 rebounding differential.
* Manhattan is now 4-0 when limiting teams to less than 60 points, and 62-11 (.849) in Head Coach Steve Masiello's 10 years.
* The Jaspers forced Niagara into a season-high 19 turnovers in the opener, while notching a season-high 11 steals for the third time this year.
* Manhattan improved to 47-17 (.734) under Masiello when registering double-digits in thefts.
* Junior Elijah Buchanan led the offense against Niagara, scoring 14 points with a career-high nine rebounds and  in opener, before adding 14 points points and four assists in the finale.
* Classmate Warren Williams grabbed a career-best matching 11 rebounds with three blocks in the first win, before posting his second career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in the finale.
* Over his last five games, he is averaging 10.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 2.4 bpg with three double-digit rebounding performances.
* Masiello improved to 15-5, all-time, Niagara with the sweep, and 10-1 at Draddy Gymnasium.

Coach Masiello Quick Hits
* Masiello, who inked a three-year extension in February, led Manhattan to back-to-back MAAC Championships in 2014 and 2015, is the longest tenured MAAC Coach in this his 10th year.
* With his win over Quinnipiac he moved past former student-athlete, coach and admin Jack Powers into third place on the all-time Jaspers' wins list, and now has 145 after this past weekend against Niagara.
* Masiello also set a school record for wins at Draddy Gymnasium against Rider, and now has 71 following the sweep of Niagara.

Saint Peter's Capsule
* Last season, Saint Peter's took both meetings from Manhattan, including posting a 70-53 win in Jersey City.
* Buchanan scored 16 points in the first meeting, en route to averaging a team-best 12.0 ppg, on 55.6 percent shooting, over the two match-ups.
* Over four career games against Saint Peter's, Williams is averaging 10.3 ppg, on 66.7 percent (16-of-24) shooting.
* The Jaspers lead the all-time series by a 79-54 count, with Masiello owning a 13-6 mark.

Scouting Saint Peer's
The Peacocks are a defensive-minded team, yielding 65.2 ppg on the year, while holding opposing teams to just  39.1 percent shooting. Leading the way is reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo, who is averaging a team-best 12.6 ppg with 5.8 rpg and a NCAA-best 4.1 bpg. Darryl Banks III (11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Fousseyni Drame (9.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg) round out the top statistical performers for Saint Peter's.

In The Rankings
* Manhattan leads the MAAC and is 29th nationally with a league-best 12.8 offensive rebounds per game, with three Jaspers ranking among the top-12 of the MAAC.
* The Jaspers also rank among the nation's leaders in scoring defense (64.6 ppg-50th), forced turnovers (15.8/game-57th), three-point percentage defense (.301-60th) and steals (7.4 spg-91st).

Getting Defensive
* Manhattan yielded a season-low 42 points in the win over Quinnipiac, while also surrendering a season-low six turnovers.
* Over the last six games, the defense is limiting opposing three-point shooters to a minuscule 20.8 percent (20-of-96).
* The Jaspers turned Marist over at least 20 times in each match-up, doing so in back in back-to-back games for the time since early in the 2018-19 season (UNC Asheville, George Washington), and are 28-16 (.636) when forcing at least 20 miscues in Masiello's 10 years.

On The Glass
* In the game one against the Bobcats, the Jaspers registered season-bests in rebounds (50), offensive caroms (19) and rebounding margin (+14).
* The Green & White hit the 50-carom mark for the first time since grabbing 51 at Marist on January 2, 2017.

Close Calls
* Manhattan is 5-2 in games decided by 10 points or less thanks to making good on a blistering 68.5 percent (37-of-54) from the charity stripe.

Ant-Man Strikes
* Junior Ant Nelson registered his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the opener at Quinnipiac, and has registered double-figures in scoring a team-best seven times, while pacing the squad on four occasions, and hitting for at least 20 points twice.
* The Seton Hall transfer also had 23 points in the finale against Marist, and ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (14.4 ppg-6th), assists (2.8 apg-11th), free throw percentage (.857-5th) and minutes (30.8-13th).

Nelson Named MAAC Player Of The Week
* The high-powered point guard earned MAAC Player of the Week honors for the week ending December 13, after averaging 23.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.0 apg while shooting 71.4 percent from the floor, including 85.7 percent from long range, and a perfect 100.0 percent from the line over two games against Rider.
* Nelson scored 19 points in the opener, before notching a career-high 27 points with six rebounds and four assists in the finale.

S Squared
* Junior Samir Stewart is averaging 9.8 ppg and 3.0 apg over his last four games, highlighted by a season-high 13 points in the opener against Niagara, as Manhattan improved to 17-4 (.810) when scoring in double-figures.
* Stewart, who is a perfect 6-0 against Niagara, is averaging 12.3 ppg and 2.8 apg over six career games against the Purple Eagles, shooting 51.1 percent (22-43) from the floor, including 47.1 percent (16-of-34).

EB Making Moves
* Buchanan is second in the MAAC with 2.1 steals per game, while also ranking among the league leaders in scoring (11.8 ppg-13th), rebounding (6.0 rpg-13th), blocks (1.4 bpg-6th), free throw percentage (.714-15th) and minutes (34.1 mpg-6th).
* He reached the 20-point mark in the win over Rider, finishing with a career-high 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the finale against Rider.
* Buchanan's big performance along with Nelson's aforementioned career-high 27 against the Broncs, marked the first time the Jaspers had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Zavier Turner and Rich Williams did so in a 92-86 win over Quinnipiac on February 25, 2018.

The Big Man
* Williams, who scored a season-high 19 points in the opener at Quinnipiac, recorded his first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) with a career-high four blocks in the win at Delaware State.
* The Preseason All-MAAC Second Team selection ranks among the MAAC leaders in rebounding (7.1rpg-4th), field goal percentage (.509-8th) and blocks (1.8 bpg-4th).

Start Me Up
* Manhattan is 3-0 since inserting senior Ethan Lasko into the starting line-up. He scored a career-high matching nine points against Delaware State, on the strength of three triples, the last of which capped a game-changing 14-2 spurt that turned a two-point deficit into a 10-point halftime advantage.

Transfer Notes
* The Jaspers' five junior transfers (Nick Brennen, Samba Diallo, Jason Douglas-Stanley, Nelson and Marques Watson) are averaging 33.6 ppg and 16.4 rpg, while accounting for 53.7 percent of the team's scoring and 45.0 percent of the rebounding.
* Watson scored a career-high matching 10 points in the first game against Quinnipiac. 
* Douglas-Stanley scored a career-high 19 points in the second game against Marist, and has recorded double-figures in points three times en route to averaging 8.0 ppg and 1.3 triples per game.
* In the win over Quinnipiac, the George Mason transfer bookended Manhattan's game-changing 14-2 run with a big three-point play, before also adding a momentum-altering three pointer that made gave the Jaspers a six-point advantage, while also pulling down a career-high five rebounds.
* Diallo, a UMass transfer, scored nine points with five rebounds and two blocks in the victory over Rider, before pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds in the finale against Niagara.

More Mas
* He is in his 25th season as a player, assistant or a head coach, and holds a career record of 506-299 (.629). He is one of just nine active Division I coaches with a National Title as a player, and one of seven that is 43 or younger with two conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tourney.
* Masiello has led the Jaspers to a 145-153 (.487) record, including going 92-88 (.511) during MAAC play, while adding a school-record 11 MAAC Tournament wins.
* At Draddy Gym, he is 71-47 (.602), including 56-35 (.615) vs. league opposition. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Up Next
The Jaspers will host Monmouth on Friday, February 5 at 9:00 pm on ESPNU.