Breaking down Manhattan’s non-conference schedule

Steve Masiello returns one of his most experienced teams to Manhattan, where Jaspers will attempt to return to NCAA Tournament for first time since 2015. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Steve Masiello’s ninth season at the helm of Manhattan College will begin with nine games that will afford the Jaspers the opportunity to experience a multitude of varying degrees of competition before transitioning into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play in January.

“We’re very excited about this upcoming basketball season in Riverdale,” Masiello remarked when the Jaspers’ non-league slate was released Monday afternoon, an appetizer in which Manhattan will begin its quest to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, and overturn a stretch in which the program has gone 48-78 since a veteran core led by Emmy Andujar and Ashton Pankey delivered a second consecutive MAAC championship – and fifth in program history – to the Bronx to further establish Masiello as a rising star and proven tactician in the coaching ranks. “We will be challenged throughout the non-conference schedule, not only by terrific basketball teams, but also by playing six of nine on the road, which we feel will prepare us for; as always, a difficult 20-game MAAC schedule.”

One added benefit for Manhattan, which contests six of its nine non-conference games away from Draddy Gymnasium, is the experience that returns to the hardwood this season, arguably the most battle-tested group that Masiello has had since assuming the reins in 2011. Senior forward Tyler Reynolds and burgeoning sophomore big man Warren Williams are joined by a healthy Pauly Paulicap going into the November 12 season opener against Delaware State, and a backcourt that improved its offense and discipline as last season progressed is anchored by diminutive point guard Samir Stewart, whose skill set will undoubtedly increase in what should be his first full season as a starter.

Beginning on November 12, when the Jaspers officially raise the curtain on the 2019-20 campaign, and ending on December 22 with a local skirmish against Hofstra, we now go into further detail on each team taking the floor against the residents of Riverdale, setting the table for the January 3 MAAC opener against Canisius in Buffalo:

Delaware State: Tuesday, November 12 – Draddy Gymnasium

Manhattan opens its season at home by welcoming the Hornets, whose last high-profile trip to New York resulted in an upset victory over St. John’s in 2016, to the Bronx as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference outfit joins St. Francis Brooklyn and Elon as initial opponents for the Jaspers. Both of Delaware State’s leading scorers from last season have since graduated, but point guard Pinky Wiley, the Hornets’ assist leader with over four helpers per game on average a year ago, steps into the anchor role as he begins his final go-round in the First State. Forwards D’Marco Baucum and Ameer Bennett, a junior and senior, respectively, will likely be double-figure scorers after combining to post an average of 17 points and seven rebounds collectively per game last year.

Did You Know? This season marks the fifth in the last six that Manhattan will face a MEAC program. The Jaspers engaged in a four-year series with Morgan State from 2014 to 2017, with Shane Richards breaking the school record for career three-point field goals in the first installment of the contract with the Bears.

Albany: Saturday, November 16 – Draddy Gymnasium

The Great Danes, a longtime America East Conference power over the past decade, went through a rebuilding season en route to an uncharacteristic 12-20 record this past year, but the status quo will be closer to reality in the Capital Region this season under the steady hand of Will Brown, whose clash with Masiello will be sure to be intense on the defensive end with a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. Six of UAlbany’s top seven scorers return for Brown this season, led by sophomore Australian sharpshooter Cameron Healy and senior guard Ahmad Clark, who led the Great Danes with 21 points in last year’s season opener against eventual MAAC champion Iona. Sophomore guard Antonio Rizzuto will be an efficient complement to Healy, whose fellow countryman, sophomore Adam Lulka, will be the force down low that Brown was accustomed to receiving from Richard Peters and Greig Stire in years past.

Did You Know? Masiello made his postseason coaching debut against Albany, from which he emerged victorious after Manhattan defeated the Great Danes by the final of 89-79 at SEFCU Arena in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

Samford: Tuesday, November 19 – Pete Hanna Center, Birmingham, Ala.

The second first-time opponent on Manhattan’s ledger is Samford, out of the Southern Conference, and the Bulldogs possess a potential SoCon Player of the Year in 5-foot-10 senior point guard Josh Sharkey, a Philadelphia-tough warrior who averaged over 16 points and seven assists per game last season. Fellow seniors Brandon Austin and Myron Gordon, each double-figure scorers in their own right last year, will once again be Sharkey’s complements in the backcourt, while sophomore forward Robert Allen is a double-double waiting to happen after posting averages of nearly ten points and over eight rebounds in his rookie campaign. If you’re looking for a deceptively strong non-conference game early in the season that will serve the Jaspers well later in the year, circle and highlight this one on your calendar.

Did You Know? Although Manhattan and Samford are meeting for the first time in the history of the two schools, this maiden contest will seem like a family affair. Samford head coach Scott Padgett was Masiello’s college teammate at Kentucky, where the two won the 1998 national championship together (Masiello and Padgett, along with Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards, give the Wildcats three active head coaches from that team), while Padgett’s associate head coach, Shawn Finney, was on Masiello’s staff for two years at Manhattan, and also gave Masiello his first coaching job as an administrative assistant at Tulane in 2000.

Elon: Saturday, November 23 – Schar Center, Elon, N.C.

The Phoenix have a new head coach in Mike Schrage, the one-time director of basketball operations at Duke before spending eight years on Johnny Dawkins’ staff at Stanford and the past three with Chris Holtmann at Butler and Ohio State. Schrage replaces Matt Matheny, and will need to shepherd a team that enters the season having to replace each of its four leading scorers from last year. In the absence of the quartet of graduated seniors, junior guard Nathan Priddy, a marksman from Texas, becomes the focal point of the offense now, with sophomore forward Chuck Hannah hoping to improve upon an efficient freshman season in which the Bostonian shot over 51 percent from the floor.

Did You Know? The return game from last year’s season opener for the Jaspers is Manhattan’s first in North Carolina since 2013, when a Masiello team led by Michael Alvarado, George Beamon and Rhamel Brown defeated UNC Wilmington en route to a MAAC championship and near-upset of Louisville in the NCAA Tournament.

Rhode Island: Wednesday, November 27 – Ryan Center, Kingston, R.I.

Now in his second year as successor to Dan Hurley, David Cox continues to maintain the upward mobility in the Rams’ program, building toward a future equally as impressive as its present. Each of Rhode Island’s five starters returns to Kingston this season, led by the senior duo of point guard Jeff Dowtin, Jr. and bruising big man Cyril Langevine. Junior guard Fatts Russell should be even more explosive this season than his first two campaigns have shown, while forward Jermaine Harris and wing Tyrese Martin could be among the biggest breakout freshman-to-sophomore jumps in the nation.

Did You Know? The last time Manhattan faced Rhode Island, Bobby Gonzalez was still at the helm, in his final season before departing for Seton Hall. The Jaspers fell by just nine points on December 6, 2005, coming up short in a 78-69 encounter. Also, Masiello and Cox are no strangers to one another, having served as assistant coaches in the Big East Conference at the same time. While Masiello served under Rick Pitino at Louisville, Cox fortified his strong recruiting ties under Jamie Dixon at Pitt, John Thompson III at Georgetown, and Mike Rice at Rutgers.

Stony Brook: Monday, December 2 – Island Federal Credit Union Arena, Stony Brook, N.Y.

The Seawolves have a new head coach, as former assistant Geno Ford moves over one chair to replace Jeff Boals, who filled the vacancy at his alma mater, Ohio University. Ford must also figure out how to replace Akwasi Yeboah, the senior forward who transferred to Rutgers for his final season of eligibility, but to his benefit, he retains the services of Elijah Olaniyi and Miles Latimer, who enter their junior and sophomore seasons, respectively. Junior wing Andrew Garcia will be a potential X-factor, and 6-foot-11 junior Jeff Otchere could be the best interior presence Manhattan will have to deal with before league play.

Did You Know? Stony Brook has won each of the past two meetings with the Jaspers, most recently a 69-62 victory at Draddy Gymnasium last December. The first of two trips to Long Island for Manhattan will be its first at Island Federal Credit Union Arena since it was renovated during the 2013-14 season.

Fordham: Saturday, December 7 – Rose Hill Gymnasium, Bronx, N.Y.

The 112th edition of the Battle of the Bronx will play out at historic Rose Hill, where Fordham has defended its home floor in each of the past two meetings with Manhattan. Leading scorer Nick Honor, whose last-second jumper at Draddy Gymnasium turned out to be the game-winning basket last December, has since transferred to Clemson, but the Rams still possess a cadre of guards capable of taking over any game. Antwon Portley, a longtime Jasper nemesis from his days at Saint Peter’s, enters his senior season with the ancillary options of sophomore Jalen Cobb and Ty Perry alongside him in the backcourt, but the question mark for Fordham lies in its front line. If Chuba Ohams and Onyi Eyisi can stay healthy, they – along with perimeter threat Ivan Raut and Stepinac product Joel Soriano, a 6-foot-9 freshman – will be able to match the Manhattan interior in what should be a physical contest in every sense of the word.

Did You Know? Fordham has won four of the last six meetings with Manhattan, and head coach Jeff Neubauer is 3-1 against the Jaspers since replacing Tom Pecora. Also, in each of the four years that the Battle of the Bronx has been contested in December during Masiello’s tenure, Manhattan has yet to allow more than 57 points to its intraborough brethren.

Western Michigan: Saturday, December 14 – Draddy Gymnasium

The last of Manhattan’s three first-time opponents this season is also the last of three home games before MAAC play begins, and it comes against the Broncos, of the Mid-American Conference, a team coming off an eight-win season and needing to replace three of its four leading scorers. Junior guard Michael Flowers, who averaged almost 16 points per contest last season, should have mounds of opportunities to pad that total this year, as will senior sharpshooter Jared Printy, whose older brother, Jordan, played at Indiana State earlier in the decade.

Did You Know? Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins, now in his 17th season at the helm in Kalamazoo, began his tenure at Western Michigan the same year that Manhattan won its last NCAA Tournament game, in 2003-04.

Hofstra: Sunday, December 22 – David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, Hempstead, N.Y.

A familiar opponent for the Jaspers closes out the non-league ledger, as Hofstra welcomes Manhattan into Nassau County for the seventh meeting between the two schools in Masiello’s nine seasons. The Pride will begin life without the irreplaceable Justin Wright-Foreman this season after the two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year was drafted by the Utah Jazz and subsequently signed a two-way contract, but Joe Mihalich comes prepared this season with a quartet of guards in Eli Pemberton, Desure Buie, Jalen Ray and Tareq Coburn, the latter of whom was perhaps the biggest key to Hofstra’s 30-point victory in Riverdale last season due to his floor spacing and perimeter shooting. Up front, Georgia transfer Isaac Kante, along with incumbent Stafford Trueheart, will be tasked with picking up where Jacquil Taylor left off protecting the rim and defending the paint for a Hofstra team whose defensive intensity improved by leaps and bounds over the past two campaigns.

Did You Know? Although Hofstra defeated a Masiello-coached team for the first time last December, the Jasper coach has still yet to lose a non-conference game on Long Island in his head coaching career.