Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
It’s a battle of MAAC squads on the parquet floor between a pair of teams looking to pick up a victory in Western New York. The Manhattan Jaspers are on the road as they make the trip to face the Niagara Purple Eagles Friday evening. Manhattan was edged 67-65 on the road by Rider in their previous contest Sunday afternoon, though they did cover the line as an eight-point underdog. Niagara edged Saint Peter’s 59-57 on the road in their previous contest, covering the line as a one-point favorite Sunday afternoon. In the all-time series between the teams, the Jaspers own a 43-30 advantage, including a 64-59 road win in the first meeting this season on January 8.
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Manhattan went right to the wire against Rider on the road but ended up falling a bucket short against the Broncs. The Jaspers fell to 6-12 overall and stand seventh in the conference with a 4-5 record entering this game. Against Rider, Manhattan led by as many as six in the first half and saw their lead trimmed to two at the half. In a tightly contested second half, the Jaspers led 62-58 with 6:19 to play in the game only to score just three points the rest of the way to wind up with the loss. Manhattan shot 44.2% from the field, including 10 of 25 from three-point range and lost the rebounding battle 36-21. Josh Roberts led the Jaspers with 18 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Jaspers come into this contest 265th in the nation in scoring offense with 68.3 points per game this season. Manhattan is 335th in rebounding with 31.5 boards per night and 234th by di shing out 12.7 assists per game. The Jaspers are below average defensively as they are 243rd in the nation in scoring defense by allowing 71.7 points per game this year. Manhattan has four players averaging in double figures with Samir Stewart leading the team with 14.9 points plus 3.3 dimes per game. Ant Nelson (14.8 ppg), Elijah Buchanan (11 points) and Josh Roberts (12.3 points, 9.3 rebounds) are solid secondary options. Nick Brennen, Marques Watson, Raziel Hayun, Logan Padgett and Adam Cisse are all looked at to contribute for the Jaspers. On the season, Manhattan is shooting 43.8% from the floor as a team. The Jaspers knock down an average of 7.5 three-pointers a night while hitting 34.8% from beyond the arc. Manhattan is struggling at the free throw line as they convert only 66.7% of their attempts on the year. Buchanan hasn’t played since November 26.