Officials can stop the game with their whistles and foul calls, but tonight, the three men in the striped suits were unable to stop Manhattan College.
In a contest featuring 54 total fouls and 77 free throw attempts between the Jaspers and Saint Peter's University, the road warriors from Riverdale prevailed, using George Beamon's 28 points and 10 rebounds to defeat the Peacocks by the final of 74-62, improving to 10-2 on the season, 8-0 away from Draddy Gym; and most importantly, 3-0 in MAAC play.
"It's really hard to come in at the collegiate level off a break like that," head coach Steve Masiello said after his team emerged victorious from their first contest since narrowly defeating Buffalo in overtime on December 21st. "It was tough to do it, but I thought we did it, and got a win."
With twelve minutes to go in regulation, the outcome was still in doubt after two Marvin Dominique free throws made it a 40-37 game, but a 17-6 Jasper run over the next four minutes; punctuated by Beamon's layup with 8:09 remaining, gave Manhattan a 57-43 lead, a margin that the Jaspers kept in double figures for nearly the duration of the game.
Michael Alvarado added 13 points for Manhattan, while Rhamel Brown added another stat-stuffing performance to his ledger with seven points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals, but the night clearly belonged to the senior who is not only making up for lost time caused by a severely sprained ankle last season, but is also intent on capturing MAAC Player of the Year honors.
"He could have had 35 and 15 tonight," Masiello said of Beamon. "I thought he settled a little bit early on, and then he got going in the second half."
Four Saint Peter's players ended the night in double figures, led by Desi Washington's 17, leaving the junior guard just six points short of 1,000 for his career, a milestone he should likely achieve on Saturday, when the Peacocks welcome Canisius into Jersey City.
Following the win, Manhattan will play their second game in three nights, when they return home to face Fairfield in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Draddy Gym.
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