Manhattan appears to be peaking, but Jaspers’ best is yet to come

Two straight double-digit wins have Manhattan positioned among MAAC contenders, but recent run is merely a sampling of what Jaspers could be in MAAC tournament. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — Anyone who has followed Manhattan College basketball over the years, or at least paid attention to Steve Masiello’s postgame comments, knows how much the need to play the program’s best basketball once the calendar flips to February — and then to March — is stressed within the walls of Draddy Gymnasium.

Many times in the past decade, Manhattan has found ways to make its fans believe with timely runs in the middle of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season, twice parlaying them with conference tournament championships. The last few years have seen promise, only to fizzle out when it mattered most. Yet this year, and this wide-open MAAC race — perhaps as unpredictable as any in league history, and way more than the perceived crescendo of insanity that was attained last March — seems different.

The Jaspers, with back-to-back wins over Iona and Niagara to open February 2020, have won each of those two games in a similar fashion, with an authoritative style established by dictating defensive tempo and using efficient shooting to gradually pull away as the game carries on. Not since the 2013-14 edition of Manhattan basketball — an experienced unit led by a trio of 1,000-point-scoring seniors — has such a firm command been exhibited by the team in green and white jerseys over a full 40 minutes, yet to some, it barely scratches the surface of what this group can ultimately accomplish.

“I don’t think we’re peaking yet,” Masiello said after Manhattan wrapped up a 77-59 victory at the expense of Niagara and rookie head coach Greg Paulus. “I think we’re just kind of doing the little things, trying to get better every day and trying to understand what goes into winning and what goes into being successful.”

That quote could be misunderstood by someone unfamiliar with the Manhattan program, especially given Masiello’s frequent downplaying of his team’s potential, erring on the side of cautious optimism, careful to not get his players too high or too low. But on Friday night, the veteran coach cracked a smile to break his otherwise stoic facade, a tell for those well versed in his ability to produce the best from his teams at the most opportune of times.

On Sunday, it was about making halftime adjustments to hold E.J. Crawford and Isaiah Ross scoreless after the two put up 30 points between them in the opening stanza, effectively decapitating Iona before dismembering its body. On Friday, it was circumventing Niagara’s four-out, one-in attack with the tag team of Pauly Paulicap and Warren Williams, who combined for 34 points and 16 rebounds against the undersized Purple Eagles.

Pauly Paulicap exploited Niagara to the tune of 20 points and eight rebounds Friday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

“I think they’re the best two-headed monster in the league,” Masiello said of the two forwards, with Williams (14 points, 8 rebounds) supplementing Paulicap (20 points, 8 rebounds) when the latter fell victim to first-half foul trouble, then sustaining momentum in the second period. “That’s no disrespect to everyone else, but I think when we go to our bench, it’s different. Warren’s different than Pauly, but they’re both very effective in their own right. It’s hard to match up with them.”

When Manhattan can control a game the way it has twice this week, and for the majority of last month’s win over Siena, the Jaspers become one of the best teams in the MAAC. Masiello conceded that his team may have turned into a second-half outfit, particularly after allowing Siena to pare a 26-point deficit to 12, but pointed out the tactical change necessary to progress.

“You don’t want to give teams false hope,” he shared. “You can’t do that. If you want to be a great team and you want to take those steps, when you get a lead, you’ve got to suffocate the 3-point line, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. We gave (Marcus) Hammond one in the corner, but we lost him on a baseline run. You can’t let that happen if you really want to continue to build your lead and have a defensive mentality.”

“March is around the corner. It comes quick, but this time of year is about the players. Coaches, they’ve gotten everything, and not a lot’s going to change from a philosophical standpoint. It’s now getting good at the things you’ve put in.”