LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Manhattan men's basketball secured a road victory today, 70-68 at Siena.
Manhattan (7-20, 4-14 MAAC) was led by Perry Cowan who scored 19 points including five three-pointers. DeJuan Clayton added 13 points and five assists for the Jaspers.
Siena (4-25, 3-15 MAAC) was led by Giovanni Emejuru who recorded a game high, 30 points as well as nine rebounds. Mason Courtney added 10 points and eight assists for the Saints.
"Gutsy performance by a lot of guys on the roster tonight," said Head Coach John Gallagher. "Playing shorthanded and fighting through the first half is a great sign for us. I thought Perry Cowan really stepped up and made some clutch shots. As we move forward we need to continue to implement DeJuan in different ways. We look forward to practice tomorrow and getting ready for Saint Peter's."
Siena started the game hot, jumping out to an early 21-9 lead in the first half. Manhattan cut the first half deficit to six, as the Saints led 29-23, but Siena was resilient, going into the half up double-digits, 39-29.
Siena would open the second half with a three-pointer extending their lead to a game high 13 points. From this point forward, it would be an onward pursuit for a comeback bid from the Jaspers. Manhattan would score eight straight points to trip the lead to 46-44 with 14:18 remaining. For the next 10 minutes of gametime, both teams would fight tooth and nail, as the Siena lead would never eclipse four points, but the Jaspers would never acquire the lead themselves. This changed with 3:05 remaining as a Cowan three-pointer would give the Jaspers a 63-62 lead, the first time they led the game since the first three minutes of the game.
Manhattan would get another basket from Daniel Rouzan to go up three with 2:01 remaining. Both teams would score two points on their next possessions, making the score 67-64 with 1:11 to play. Emejuru would convert on a dunk for the Saints before Clayton quickly answered with a jumper for Manhattan, giving the Saints the ball down 69-66 with 24 seconds to play. Emejuru would score on another dunk giving the Jaspers the ball up by one. With Siena forced to foul, Clayton would go to the line, converting one out of two, to give the Saints the ball down two with 15 seconds remaining. Siena would miss a jumper, grab the offensive rebound, but miss their putback attempt as well, allowing the Jaspers to come away with the win.
Manhattan shot 45.8% from the floor and 36.8% from three-point. They recorded 32 points in the paint and 11 bench points.
Siena shot 42.9% from the floor and 35.7% from three-point. They recorded 32 points in the paint and 15 bench points.
The Jaspers next take the court on Sunday when they travel to Jersey City, to take on Saint Peter's in their final road game of the season.
Tickets: To purchase season or individual tickets, visit gojaspers.universitytickets.com. For any questions call 718-862-7297 or email tickets@manhattan.edu.
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