Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. ? Sophomore center Laurence Jolicoeur shot a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line and finished with a season-high 17 points lifting Manhattan (13-10, 7-6 MAAC) to its second straight road win in a 72-65 triumph at Loyola (11-14, 6-7 MAAC). Classmate Chris Smith lead all players with 19 points and nine rebounds helping the Jaspers break a tie for fifth place in the conference with the Greyhounds. Manhattan converted 32-of-37 (86.5%) free-throw attempts which is the best performance since Feb. 11, 2007 when the Jaspers went 26-for-29 (89.7%) against Niagara.
The Jaspers built a 13 point (57-44) advantage in the second half, their largest of the contest, courtesy of a 19-9 run capped by Darryl Crawford's lay-up with 5:47 remaining. Crawford scored 12 points coming off the bench, including a 4-for-4 night at the free-throw line.
Loyola responded when it mounted 16-4 run to pull within 61-60 with 1:28 remaining on Marquis Sullivan's fifth 3-pointer of the contest. Sullivan led the Greyhounds with 15 points coming off the bench.
This is as close as Loyola would get to retrieving the lead from Manhattan, an advantage the Jaspers held since 7:48 in the first half when Smith broke a 17-17 tie with a lay-up through traffic. Manhattan converted 7-of-9 free-throw attempts in the last minute and a half of the game to hold on for the win.
Smith put the exclamation point on the victory when he threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk with 23 seconds remaining, then knocked down a free-throw to complete the three point play. It gave the Jaspers a multiple-possession advantage.
Smith was 7-for-13 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. He anchored Manhattan's bench that outscored Loyola 39-26.
Jolicoeur complimented Smith's superb rebounding effort with eight boards of his own. His flawless free-throw shooting performance came up two shy of the program's record held by Luis Flores '04 who went 17-for-17 from the line at Rider on Feb. 26, 2004. Jolicoeur is the first Jasper to hit 15 free-throws in a game since Jason Wingate '06 did on Dec. 9, 2005 against Marist.
Senior center Herve Banogle recorded a career-high 11 points going 4-for-5 from the field. Banogle got the Jaspers offense going scoring six of the team's first seven points.
Manhattan out-rebounded the Greyhounds 36-27.
The Jaspers return to action Monday night versus Iona. The contest is the second game of a men's and women's televised doubleheader versus the Gaels on MSG.
