Riverdale, NY (January 30, 2005)- In front of a sellout crowd at Draddy Gym on the Manhattan campus, the Jaspers posted a 69-61 win over the visiting Fairfield Stags this afternoon. Peter Mulligan led all scorers with 28 points as Manhattan improves to 10-8, 5-5 in MAAC play, while Kenny Minor led the team with a career-high eight rebounds.
The two teams traded baskets over the first six minutes until Manhattan used a 6-2 run to stretch an 8-6 lead to a 14-8 lead with 11:05 left before the break. Fairfield responded with a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to two, 17-15, with 5:42 left in the half, but a Jason Wingate three pointer and a Mulligan conventional three point play pushed the lead to eight, and after a Terrence Todd jumper, Justin Gatling was fouled converting a layup. Gatling rebounded his own missed free throw and Mulligan connected on short jumper to push the lead to 10, 27-17, with 2:10 to play before the break. The teams traded points over the rest of the half until Jeff Xavier stole the ball and fed Mulligan for a layup to give Manhattan a 32-21 lead at the break.
In the second stanza, Manhattan pushed the advantage to as many as 14, 47-33, with 14:01 remaining and maintained a 10 point advantage with 5:50 to play before the Stags closed the gap to four points, 59-55, with an 8-2 run. But the Jaspers would not be denied, as Mulligan and CJ Anderson scored the game's next six points to push the lead back to double digits, 65-55, with 2:25 remaining. Fairfield was able to cut the lead to four points, 65-61, with 50 ticks left, but a Mulligan layup and two Kenny Minor free throws allowed Manhattan to emerge with the win.
Anderson joined Mulligan in double figures, adding 17 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal. Manhattan won the battle of the boards, 44-40, led by Minor's eight.
DeWitt Maxwell paced Fairfield with 19 points, adding nine caroms, while Deng Gai nearly tallied a triple double with 12 points, and game-highs of 10 rebounds, and eight blocks, five in the first half.
Manhattan begins a three game road trip Tuesday, February 1, when the Jaspers travel to Albany, NY to take on the Siena Saints at 7:00 p.m. at the Pepsi Arena.