LEWISTON, NY — Manhattan pulled away from Niagara on Sunday afternoon at the Gallagher Center with the help of prolific three-point shooting and balanced scoring, outdueling the Purple Eagles by a final score of 85-70. The Jaspers were paced by five double-digit scorers in the rout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Jaden Winston and Wesley Robinson set the tone from behind the arc in the first half, canning a combined 6 of 9 attempts.
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Back to back threes from Robinson in the early going cut the Jaspers deficit to 12-11.
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A three from Niagara's Jaeden Marshall at the 12:39 mark pushed the Purple Eagles lead back to four.
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The Purple Eagles hit three of their four attempts from long range, but the Jaspers were right there hitting four of six attempts from deep to keep the Niagara defense honest.
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A contested three from Shaquil Bender cut the deficit back to one, before another three from Winston a few minutes later earned the Jaspers a one-point lead.
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After Niagara retook the lead on a three from Josiah Davis, Devin Dinkins finished a basket inside to keep the Jaspers offensive momentum going.
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The Jaspers offense posted 38 first-half points and led for the majority of the final 8:12. Manhattan took a 38-33 halftime lead into the locker room.
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Robinson and Winston each knocked down another three inside the final three minutes of the half, and leading-scorer Will Sydnor notched seven points over the final plus minutes of the first half.
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Niagara wasn't able to slow down the Manhattan defense either as the Jaspers ballooned their lead to 17 after a basket from Bender at the 2:41 mark.
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Bender had a stretch of scoring nine straight points inside the final four minutes that put the game out of reach for the Purple Eagles.
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Senior walk-on Aryan Arora scored his first basket of the season.
STATS AND NOTES
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Manhattan earned its first sweep of the Buffalo schools since the 2019-20 season.
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Since the 1989-90 season when Niagara and Canisius both joined the MAAC, the two-game Buffalo road trip has been swept nine times by the Jaspers.
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Manhattan extended its winning streak over Niagara to three games dating back to last season.
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Manhattan was paced by five double-figure scorers (Robinson 16, Dinkins 15, Bender 14, Winston 13 and Gilyard 12).
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Sunday was the fifth instance of Manhattan boasting five double digit scorers in a game.
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Manhattan had a season-best four turnovers, which was the third time this season the Jaspers had less than 10 turnovers.
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Bender averaged 14.5 points per game this weekend on 4-10 shooting from three-point range.
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Winston tied his career-high mark in steals with five.
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Dinkins finished with a career-high seven assists, which included recording six in the first half.
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Manhattan registered 17 assists on 28 made field goals, including registering 12 assists on 13 made field goals in the first half.
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Manhattan connected on 19 of 23 free throw attempts (82.6%).
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Manhattan shot 19-48 (39.5%) from three-point range this weekend after going 10-23 (43.5%) on Sunday.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Head coach John Gallagher on the Jaspers' unselfishness: "The trust we're showing in the system is evident in the number of assists we had and this was our best no turnover game. We only had four."
Gallagher on the importance of getting off to a fast start today: "Our pace of play was great in the beginning. We had a lot of energy."
Gallagher on Dinkins' continued growth: "Dev really understands the system. His growth has helped us immensely on both sides of the ball."
NEXT UP
Manhattan (15-12, 10-8 MAAC) will look to avenge an early February loss to Sacred Heart (14-15, 10-8 MAAC) when the Jaspers play host to the Pioneers on Thursday night. Tip off is slated for 7 PM at Draddy Gym on ESPN+.
Follow Manhattan Basketball on X (@JaspersMBB) and on Instagram (@jaspers.mbb).