Third-year head coach Steve Masiello said there were no silver linings in the Manhattan Jaspers 71-67 loss at Fairfield on Saturday at Webster Bank Arena.

“There was no effort, our effort was horrible,” Masiello said. “That was one of the worst efforts I’ve seen from this basketball program since I’ve been the coach. One of the worst I’ve ever seen; totally goes against everything we stand for. That effort was atrocious, atrocious.”

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Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said he learned his lesson with George Beamon last season.

The third-year head coach of the Jaspers said on Tuesday during the MAAC conference call that the redshirt senior, who sprained his shoulder in the first half against Quinnipiac last Thursday, may play in Thursday’s game against Siena.

“George is going to be evaluated on a day-to-day, if it was up to him he would have played against Marist,” Masiello said of Beamon’s shoulder. “There’s a chance he could play Thursday, we’re going to work him out [Tuesday] on the court and see how he responds.”

After an ankle injury at the start of last season, Masiello held Beamon out of the season opener against Louisville. When he returned in the third game of the season against Hofstra,  the senior scored 29 points in a 67-56 victory. Three games later, Beamon re-injured the ankle at George Washington and the effects of the injury cost him the 2012-13 season and forced him to take a medical redshirt.

“I”ll say it and I’ll say it again, I’m going to be extremely cautious with him after what we went through last year,” Masiello said. “I’ve learned my lesson, as has our training staff, and we’re just going to really take our time with him, but he will be back.”

As for the injury, Masiello said that there is no timetable for Beamon’s return and that the way they are handling his shoulder injury is similar to how they would handle an ankle sprain.

“After talking with the doctor and our trainer, how they explained it to me is basically how you would handle an ankle sprain,” Masiello said. “There’s no set timetable. It’s when the ankle gets the strength back, the swelling goes down first, when the strength gets back, the mobility gets back.”

“It’s gotten much better, like an ankle sprain would, and time heals it. He’s done a very rigorous rehab program that we’ve given a lot of attention to. We want him back right away, there’s a chance he could play Thursday, we’re going to work him out [Tuesday], see how he responds. I know everyone wants to hear that he’s done for the year, but he’s not. He’s going to play this year.”

Masiello assured that the redshirt senior Beamon would return this season and that their experience without him last season better prepares the team for his absence. Last season the Jaspers won nine of their final 13 games, on their way to a three-point defeat to Iona in the MAAC championship game.

“We’re a much better team when he’s on the court, we’re a much better program when he’s involved, but we also have a lot of guys who can step up,” Masiello said. “I think we’ve shown guys that we have some pieces and we’re not bad, we’re not the worst team in the league without George and we’ve shown that over the last year.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the America East conference and Hofstra for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo or contact Ryan at rrestivo[at]nycbuckets.com.