Manhattan 84, Buffalo 81

Manhattan was down seven points with just 45 seconds remaining when everything changed for the Jaspers. A 9-2 run tied the game and Manhattan won in overtime for their fifth straight victory.

What happened during that three-quarters of a minute on Saturday evening at the Barclays Center will define the remainder of the Jaspers’ season. Manhattan had lost two scholarship players – both Mike Alvarado and Donovan Kates had been ejected for leaving the bench during a first half altercation – and it seemed like the entire roster was in foul trouble. It didn’t matter.

This win is the sort of moment that analysts speak about when they (we) talk about “luck” in college basketball. On this afternoon in Brooklyn all of those things went Manhattan’s way.

“I think it’s one of the best wins we’ve had since I’ve been here. We would bend, bend, bend, but we never broke,” said Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello.

It wasn’t the first time this happened to Manhattan – Columbia knows all too well – and it certainly won’t be the last, but there seems to be something brewing in Riverdale.

“This team there’s just something about them. Even times when I’m like ‘Okay, we’re in trouble here,’ whether it’s at Columbia, we find a way to win,” Masiello said. “I think that says something. I think that leads to something. Is there luck? Yeah. But I think you create your own luck. I think the way you work, they way you handle yourself, you create your own luck. The harder you work the luckier you get.”

The hard work of Shane Richards certainly paid off during those final moments. The sweet-shooting sophomore started the comeback with a three, but it was his three free throws with five seconds remaining that tied the game. Richards calmly stepped up to the line after being fouled by Buffalo’s Jarryn Skeete and knocked down each attempt from the free throw line. Even Bobby Hurley’s gamesmanship of calling a timeout to ice him after the first free throw didn’t matter.

“It’s tough to do that, especially the timeout ices you,” Masiello said. “It’s tough to be able to stand there and make three. Basically you know the game is on the line.”

Hard work is also how George Beamon was even on the court on Saturday. The fifth-year senior has battled back from an injury that cost him all of last season. He’s been steeled by that adversity. Even as he went 8-20 from the field Beamon kept going to the rim against the Buffalo defense. He finished with 22 points, including a three-point play during the crucial stretch.

Of course, once Manhattan tied the game the Jaspers still had to survive overtime. But holding on by just two points with 18 seconds remaining Rhamel Brown came through with two of his four blocks to keep the Bulls away from the basket. Saddled by foul trouble in first half, Brown still managed to finish with 8 points, 6 rebounds and those 4 blocks in 23 minutes.

The win is also important for what Manhattan overcame. It’s easy to think of the Jaspers as a human assembly line. There are many individual pieces, but Masiello just plugs the cogs in and, voila, a 9-2 record. Their head coach though would tell you they’re something else, a family. One with quite a bit of college basketball experience. It’s that experience and their effort that helps Manhattan overcome these moments. It’s what turned those two ejections from an excuse to lose into another teachable moment.

And it’s why even though Manhattan was lucky on Saturday, they earned it too.