Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Senior forward Devon Austin led all scorers with a season-high 20 points guiding Manhattan (4-2, 1-0 MAAC) on a 81-63 rout of Canisius (3-4, 0-1 MAAC) this evening at Draddy Gymnasium. Chris Smith and Darryl Crawford also scored in double-figures in the Jaspers' MAAC opener.
“Our guys played with some hustle tonight, with some heart, with some energy and really competed,” stated head coach Barry Rohrssen.
Manhattan erupted for a season-high 46 second half points and led by as much as 21. The Jaspers caught fire from beyond the arc going 11-for-22 (50%), with four treys coming from Austin.
Austin and Crawford led Manhattan into intermission combining for 23 of the Jaspers first half points. Manhattan led 35-31 at the break.
Crawford finished with 16 points, five rebounds and was 6-for-12 from the field.
Manhattan led nearly the entire game, trailing just 23 seconds of the contest all within the first minute of action.
The Jaspers broke the contest open with an 11-0 run midway through the second stanza. Austin began and completed the surge with 3-pointers. Crawford added a pair of buckets, including a one handed dunk in transition. Austin jump started the fast break blocking Julius Coles 3-point attempt with 12:58 to go.
The run gave Manhattan a 58-42 advantage and the squad led by double digits the rest of the way.
Canisius forward Chris Gadley posted a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 boards. Frank Turner (14) and Greg Loggins (13) each contributed double-figures.
Manhattan converted on 22-of-29 (75.9%) free-throw attempts. Smith was 7-for-10 from the stripe and posted 17 points. Andrew Gabriel was 6-for-8 and swiped three steals.
Jasper senior forward Herve Banogle grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added four points to the effort.
Manhattan honored Austin prior to the contest after reaching the 1,000-point plateau on Saturday at Draddy Gymnasium versus Hofstra. He became the 29th player in program history to reach this milestone.
“Obviously, very proud of him (Austin),” stated Rohrssen. “He is not just a thousand point scorer, but he is a thousand point person.”
Manhattan returns to action on Sunday at conference rival Rider. Tip off is set for 2 p.m.
