First thoughts after Manhattan’s victory over Canisius in MAAC play.
By PAUL GOTHAM
How it happened
Shane Richards scored five of his career-high 32 points as two-time MAAC champion Manhattan pulled away late for its third straight win. The 6-5 senior guard drilled one of his six 3-pointers as the Jaspers turned a two-point game with 5:13 to go into double-digit lead in the final minute. Three Jaspers fouled out of the game and two others finished with four infractions. Richards led the way as the Jaspers connected for a season-high 14 triples.
Adieu! Adieu!
Not sure if he reached heat-check status because his range seemed anywhere in the gym. Richards connected on 11 of 14 shots for the night including six of seven behind the arc. For his career, Richards is now 28 of 41 (68.2 percent) from the floor at the Koessler Athletic Center including 21 of 35 (67.7 percent) behind the arc. Griffs will want to wish the Manhattan his best as he leaves and never comes back. Then again, the faithful will want to appreciate the talent they saw.
Irony of the score
The final score looked more like a game within the Griffs’ comfort zone. Canisius entered play leading the MAAC and 14th in the country scoring 84.9 points per game (82.5 in MAAC play). Manhattan scores 68.6 although the Jaspers have scored 72 in the conference games.
“It wasn’t the way we drew it up by any means,” Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said. ”
I don’t know if we’ve ever won a game and a team has shot 50 percent against us. I’d have to look that up. That’s not something we’re accustomed to. We’re not an out-offense-you type of organization. We won it a different way. I always say it on days you’re supposed to go down if you can win, it’s a sign of a good basketball team.”
Shrinking the court
Canisius shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor and lost. Of course, Manhattan shot 29-of-52 (55.8 percent). Frequently switching defenses the Jaspers were able to decrease the Griffs number of attempts behind the arc. Canisius came in averaging more than 29 takes from long range. Thursday the blue and gold had just 22.
“If you give them 29, they’re going to make them,” Masiello stated. “They’re going to get 10 or 11. We knew we had to get that number down. I thought we did a good job of that of getting out to shooters. We had three breakdowns in the first half where we gave them looks they shouldn’t have gotten. That’s on us. We didn’t play a couple pick and rolls right. Then we didn’t go with some men out of our match-up zone. I thought we adjusted in the second half. I think we got to their legs a little bit. They were 3 for 12 in the second half, 25 percent from three. That was a big thing for us. I thought if we could challenging them and push them two steps behind the line, I thought that would help us late in the game.”
On the skid
After winning four straight including a dramatic win on the road at Marist, the Griffs have now lost two in a row.
“We got to answer the intensity,” Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. “We got to answer the bell as far as readiness and stepping up and making shots and making plays. Certainly, they did that. I got to give them credit.
“We’re still searching for a leader among our upper classmen. Someone to pull the train.”
Looking ahead
Canisius (7-8/2-3) hosts Saint Peter’s (5-8/3-1) on Saturday for a 2 p.m. Manhattan (6-8/3-2) travels to Niagara (2-3/4-12) for a 3 p.m. start also on Saturday.
Other games in the MAAC
Niagara 63 Saint Peter’s 61
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Justin Satchell‘s career-high 22 points helped propel the Niagara Purple Eagles to a 63-61 win over the Saint Peter’s Peacocks to snap a seven-game skid on Thursday night. READ MORE.
Iona 67 Rider 58
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men’s basketball team held off Rider 67-58 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest at the Hynes Center. A 12-3 run over the final 4:16 seconds led to the Gaels’ nine-point win. The seesaw contest saw 10 ties and eight lead changes. READ MORE.
Siena 91 Fairfield 76
Brett Bisping scored a career-high 28 points, Javion Ogunyemi finished with 19 points and Siena never trailed on the way to beating Fairfield 91-76 on Thursday night. READ MORE.
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