Manhattan's season ends with loss to Marist in MAAC quarterfinals

Tori Jarosz scored 22 points in Marist's first MAAC tournament game, helping Red Foxes advance to semifinals with 70-58 win over Manhattan. (Photo courtesy of Marist College Athletics)

ALBANY, NY -- Manhattan's 12-win turnaround season, tied for the the best in the nation, has come to an end.

The Jaspers (15-16) were defeated by Marist (16-15) in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals by the final of 70-58, surrendering an 11-0 run to the Red Foxes to start the game, a deficit from which they were never quite able to fully recover.

"Today, we ran into a juggernaut," a candid John Olenowski assessed of the outcome. "The fact that we didn't really score or pick it up until late in the second half became very, very difficult to overcome."

Amani Tatum led the Jaspers with 12 points in the losing effort, while Kayla Grimme recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. For Marist, Tori Jarosz led all scorers with 22 points one day after being named Player of the Year in the MAAC, and Sydney Coffey supplemented her teammate's total with 21 markers of her own.

"I thought it was a great opening game for us," said head coach Brian Giorgis, whose Red Foxes will meet Iona in the semifinals Sunday afternoon. "We got off to a good start, which had been our bugaboo over the last few weeks. To get off to an 11-0 start really helped us."

Manhattan did match Marist shot for shot after the opening deficit, and showed tremendous resolve in doing so, an encouraging sign for a team who brings back a solid core for next season, a campaign already loaded with mounds of promise.

"I think this team is going to be great next year," an optimistic Olenowski said. "There's quite a nucleus coming back, so I think good things are ahead for the Jaspers next year."