Category: Manhattan

Iona Dancing Again as MAAC Champions

The Iona Gaels will get a chance to redeem themselves. A season after losing the biggest lead in NCAA tournament history the Gaels are headed back to the Big Dance after winning the MAAC’s automatic bid with a 60-57 victory over Manhattan in Springfield, MA.

Continue reading “Iona Dancing Again as MAAC Champions” →

All New York City Final in MAACachusetts

SPRINGFIELD – The MAAC’s second final at the MassMutual Center will be historic, putting two New York City teams against each other in the championship game for the first time.

The fourth-seeded Iona Gaels meet the sixth-seeded Manhattan Jaspers in a battle of New York City sized proportions. Weeks ago this matchup seemed extremely improbable. Continue reading “All New York City Final in MAACachusetts” →

Manhattan’s Second Half Spurt Leads to 60-42 Win over Fairfield

SPRINGFIELD – The sixth-seeded Jaspers continued their improbable run, making the championship game with a 60-42 victory over seventh-seeded Fairfield Sunday.

Manhattan advances to play Iona in the MAAC championship game for the first time ever.

Emmy Andujar led the Jaspers with a game-high 16 points. Fairfield’s Mo Barrow led the Stags with 15 points.

Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said that Andujar makes the game look very easy.

“The game comes very easy to him and it looks very easy to him,” Masiello said. “Sometimes I don’t give him enough credit and I’m very hard on him he’ll sit here and say he needs that but he doesn’t. He knows how to play, he has a great feel for this game and he has mid-ranges, he goes off the bounce he shoots it, unbelievable passer, he rebounds, the whole package.”

“The only one to stop Emmy Andujar is Emmy Andujar and that’s it. You’re looking at a kid who wasn’t heavily recruited and has been through more adversity than most people in their life this year. No one deserves success more than him. He’s humble, he’s what being a Manhattan Jasper is all about.”

Manhattan controlled the second half of the game after carrying a one-point lead into halftime. Andjuar drove past Barrow through contact for a layup to extend the Jasper lead to 31-28. After a Barrow jumper miss from the free throw line, Mohamed Koita drilled a three-pointer from the baseline next to the Manhattan bench to give the Jaspers a seven-point lead, forcing a Fairfield timeout with just under 11 minutes left.

Second team All-MAAC center Rhamel Brown was held in check early, picking up his second foul with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Brown scored his first points, a basket plus a Needham foul on the bucket with 10:06 left.

The Jaspers went inside to Brown on their next offensive possession, got fouled by Barrow and made both shots. The Jaspers extended the lead to nine with free throws to get it as large as 44-35.

Brown led the Jaspers with a team-high seven rebounds to go with his seven points and three blocks.

Masielllo said that with Brown struggling it helped get Roberto Colonette active who scored nine points and had three rebounds.

“The most unsung guy in this program is Roberto Colonette,” Masiello said. “He tells us guys what we need to do even when he’s not in the game and then when he’s in the game he does all the dirty work. He came in and listen we miss Rhamel when he’s not in the game he’s one of the best in the country, but Roberto is a different type of player. He’s going to take charges, he’s going to rotate and we change we adjust to it.”

“Emmy stepped up we played more physical on guards, we can’t get beat off dribble penetration and we adjusted they do that. That’s the beauty of this team they understand that and that’s what I think makes this group of young men so special.”

Off a missed layup from Nickerson, Andujar went coast to coast for a layup to cap an 8-2 run, giving the Jaspers a 46-35 lead. From there the Jaspers held a lead greater than 10 for the rest of the game.

Kates drove to the free throw line, his pass found Brown on the block and the junior threw down a two-handed dunk to give the Jaspers a 50-37 lead with 3:17 left.

For a time it didn’t look like the Jaspers were going to continue their late season run to the finals. Fairfield opened up the game scoring the game’s first six points and led by as many as 11 after a Derek Needham layup gave the Stags a 16-5 lead.

“I just said we were down 12-2 to this team about eight days ago,” Masiello said he told the team at the first media timeout. “We’ve been down 17, been down 15, been down 19. We’ve seen it all. These kids know what to do, I believe in them. They can go out and play this game without me, they’re those type of kids. My job’s easy, they do the hard stuff. I just give them some advice. I tell them some things to do things I see on the side, these kids do it all themselves. If every coach had these kids he’d be successful.”

However, the Jaspers closed the gap throughout the next eight minutes. Following a Colin Nickerson turnover, Donovan Kates buried a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to give the Jaspers their first lead. That 23-22 lead capped a 7-0 run and put the Jaspers ahead going to halftime.

Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said that his team’s 12 turnovers cost them and let Manhattan get back into the game.

“I thought turnovers helped get them back in the game,” Johnson said for his team who turned the ball over eight times in the second half. “Once they got back in the game, we’ve had scoring droughts all season long and that showed up in the second half so we let them get back into it. Credit them they didn’t give up and that was it. We just couldn’t turn the corner.”

Fairfield did not have any answers offensively, going cold. The Stags were held to shooting just 34.9% for the game, including no three point shots made. It’s the first time this season the Stags failed to make a three-pointer in a game, missing all nine of their opportunities from beyond the arc.

Manhattan shut down Needham, holding him to four points on two of 10 from the field.

“I think they like me,” Needham said of how hard the Jaspers guarded him. “I always hear their coach ‘don’t leave Needham, don’t leave Needham.’ I think they rush two guys at me all the time.”

“Some teams got your number and you can’t be afraid to admit Manhattan, they do a good job of guarding me.”

Michael Alvarado said Masiello preached in every timeout to make sure they stayed on Needham throughout.

“We just can’t lose sight of him,” Alvarado said. “Coach always said in every huddle don’t lose sight of him and don’t let him get off. Make someone else beat us so that’s what we tried to do the last three times we played them.”

With the 18-point victory, the Jaspers swept the three-game series from the Stags this season.

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.

Manhattan Upsets Loyola (MD) with 55-52 MAAC Sendoff

SPRINGFIELD – Manhattan gave Loyola (MD) a farewell present for leaving the conference, holding the lead throughout and delivering a 55-52 last second victory in the final Quarterfinal matchup of the MAAC Tournament.

After Rhamel Brown missed a post up opportunity against Erik Etherly, Dylon Cormier grabbed the loose rebound by the free throw line and drove the length of the court. Cormier got the basket to go above a sea of Manhattan defenders and his nifty work up close got him a traditional three point play on Brown. His free throw cut the lead to 53-52, the closest the game had been since 4-3.

On Manhattans’ ensuing possession Etherly stole the entry pass to Brown inside. Cormier drove the lane but his shot was rejected by Brown.

“Towards the end we had great looks, the ball had a lid on it,” Cormier said. “We had a couple good looks got a chipee layup that just didn’t go our way.”

After RaShawn Stores missed a three pointer, Loyola (MD) got opportunities to take the lead in the final two minutes but could not convert.

Cormier missed a three at the end of the shot clock but his rebound was grabbed by Robert Olson, Olson’s fade away shot went in and out, but he was able to scramble for the rebound. The Greyounds got the ball inside to Etherly but he could not get the ball up over Manhattan’s big men.

“I think it just came down to who wanted it more who was the tougher team,” Brown said. “They tap it around a lot, they kept the ball alive there for a couple possessions but I think in the last few in the last 10 seconds we gritted down and we said that we’re not going to let them get the ball in. We were able to get possession.”

Stores made two free throws following a foul by R.J. Williams and Olson’s desperation heave did not go.

Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said that he felt he tried to slow the game down late to their detriment.

“I did a poor job late in the game, I pulled us out of attack mode,” Masiello said. “I played to the clock. It was a cardinal sin of coaching but it’s a good lesson for us.”

Masiello said that he was hoping in the final sequence that the clock would continue to run as Loyola (MD) found opportunities on the offensive glass.

“They did a good job of tipping the ball out and we didn’t come up with loose balls,” Masiello said. “I thought we tried to dribble loose balls instead of just grab it. That’s something we talk about and it’s a lot easier to say that than do that but I thought that was the difference in the last couple minutes we tried to dribble it instead of grab it and secure it.”

“We were fortunate I thought we got a good challenge with the last play we let someone behind us which we shouldn’t have done. We made a lot of mistakes late in the game, left Olson open on a bump to the corner, Mike Avlarado didn’t play him in the slot for a three but we were fortunate to get a rebound.”

The Greyhounds grabbed three offensive rebounds in the final minute but could not convert on any of the extra possessions.

Cormier led the Greyhounds with a game-high 14 points. Brown led Manhattan with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Stores and Emmy Andujar each had  nine points off the bench.

Loyola (MD) struggled out of the gate, making just three of their 14 two-pointers but their four of eight from deep and making all 12 free throws kept them within striking distance. An 8-1 run to close the half closed the Manhattan lead to 34-30 at halftime.

“They probably won the game in the first four minutes of each half,” Patsos said. “We usually win the games in the first four minutes of the half and the first half of the second half. I take that on me. I totally take full responsibility for the  loss.”

Manhattan controlled the start of the second half just as much as the first. Rhamel Brown was found by Andujar on a baseline drive, baiting Franz Rassman so he can pass it to Brown for the emphatic throw down. On the next possession Donovan Kates nailed a three pointer from the baseline opposite the Manhattan bench, giving Manhattan a 45-33 lead with 15:25 left.

Off an inbonds pass, Kates found Roberto Colonette whose cut to the basket layup went in to give the Jaspers their largest lead at 47-33 with 13:25 to go.

Loyola (MD) responded back thanks to Anthony Winbush back with a drive to the basket and the Greyhounds followed that up with a press, forcing an Andujar charge near the Loyola (MD) bench. The ensuing possession, Winbush posted up Andujar for a basket that cut the lead to 10.

R.J. Williams cut the lead to seven with a deep two-pointer and after Jared Jones blocked an Alvarado layup, Dylon Cormier drove to the basket in transition for the layup to cut the lead to 49-44. After a Brown post up two in the paint on Etherly, Olson nailed a deep two-pointer to cut the lead back to five with 5:58 left.

Stores responded with a drive in the lane, getting fouled by Etherly with one second on the shot clock. Patsos on the sideline throughout the possession could be seen begging for a five second call as Williams guarded Stores outside the arc. Stores made both free throws to give Manhattan a 53-46 lead but Olson responded with a three pointer from the wing to cut the lead to four with 4:34 left.

In that final minute Loyola (MD) was out of timeouts because head coach Jimmy Patsos used his final timeout after Olson’s three pointer cut the lead to four.

“I was trying to get us rest because we kept making moves,” Patsos said because his team was fighting foul trouble throughout. “I’m trying to manage the game.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets, follow him on twitter @ryanarestivo.