Jaspers edge Fairfield to win first MAAC tournament game since 2016

Christian Hinckson's career-high 16 points led Manhattan past Fairfield and into MAAC tournament quarterfinals. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

ALBANY, NY -- Steve Masiello prefaced Manhattan's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament opener against Fairfield by declaring the Stags to be the toughest possible matchup his Jasper team could potentially endure during its stay in New York's state capital.

As it turned out, a tough matchup was conquered by a tough brand of basketball that was reminiscent of the championship pedigree that has come to permeate Riverdale over the years.

Making a halftime adjustment that saw its defense clamp down and limit Fairfield to just six field goals over the final 20 minutes, and shut the Stags out on each of their four three-point field goal attempts in the second stanza, seventh-seeded Manhattan advanced to the MAAC tournament quarterfinals with a gritty, businesslike 57-53 victory to set up a Friday night showdown with regular season runner-up Canisius.

"We really wanted to make sure we sat down and let (Landon) Taliaferro get any good looks," Masiello said of the adjustments the Jaspers (11-20) made against Fairfield's leading scorer, who exploited Manhattan for 26 points in a 72-59 Stags victory on February 24, but was held to just six attempts on the night. "We were scrambling a little bit for answers in a sense, and what we tried to do was load to the ball a little better, but make sure we knew where their shooters were."

"I thought we did a great job of establishing our identity, going inside, punching the basketball and not settling. We thought we could get to their legs, and I think the shooting percentage was indicative in the second half. That's Manhattan basketball, and we're going to have success if we're holding you to that."

After conceding 50 percent shooting from the floor to Fairfield (9-22) in a 33-30 opening period, Manhattan imposed its will defensively and frustrated the Stags more frequently, yielding just a 30 percent clip to the No. 10 seed and riding the suffocating pressure -- along with a career-high 16 points from Christian Hinckson -- to its first conference tournament victory since March 3, 2016, when Shane Richards dominated Marist in an opening-round rout.

"I know how good these kids are," Masiello said when illustrating the impact of a different player every night in recent weeks for an up-and-coming Manhattan squad. "So for me, it wasn't if, but when. They're freshmen, and there's so much they're dealing with, and very few freshmen can be Zion (Williamson), very few freshmen can be RJ (Barrett). It just took them some time, but it's who they are. These are really high-character young men who are great basketball players, and who are just benefiting from their hard work."