Game 25: Manhattan (9-15, 7-7 MAAC) vs. Iona (15-10, 9-5 MAAC)
Friday, February 15, 2013 at 7 p.m.
Draddy Gymnasium (2,520) - Riverdale, N.Y.
'White Out Draddy Night'
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Scouting Report
Manhattan (9-15, 7-7 MAAC)
Manhattan has been the hottest team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Jaspers enter Friday's showdown with Iona riding a three-game win streak, and have won four of the last five contests. Manhattan owns a 5-3 record at Draddy Gymnasium, which includes a 67-54 victory over Canisius its last time in Riverdale on Feb. 7.
Sophomore forward Donovan Kates has emerged as one of the Jaspers' top scoring threats. Kates is coming off a season-high 17 point performance as he led the team in points for the second straight game in the Jaspers' most recent victory at Fairfield on Tuesday. Kates had 15 of his 17 points in the second half and shot 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. The Hopkinsville, Ky., native leads the team averaging 13.7 points shooting 52.6% from the field during the Jaspers three game win streak.
Manhattan forward Rhamel Brown has also been spectacular during the last three wins. Brown averaged 13.0 points and is shooting 76.2% (16-21) from the field. He has corralled 7.0 rebounds per game and 4.33 blocks per contest. Brown leads the MAAC in field goal percentage shooting 57.1% on the season, and ranks 13th in the nation averaging 2.91 blocks per game.
The Jaspers have also received solid production from sophomore guard RaShawn Stores who is the two-time reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week. Stores is averaging 10.0 points in the last three wins, playing 21.3 minutes off the bench. Stores is tied with sophomore forward Emmy Andujar for the team lead in assists with 56.
Manhattan earned a reputation as the most dominant defensive team in the conference. The Jaspers lead the MAAC with a 38.1% field goal defense and have yielded 57.8 points against MAAC teams. The Jaspers have held five of their last six opponents to fewer than 55 points.
Iona (15-10, 9-5 MAAC)
The Gaels have dropped three of their last four games, falling by a combined seven points in the losses, with two going into overtime. Iona is coming off a 78-71 victory over Rider on Saturday in New Rochelle, N.Y. Senior guard Lamont Jones and junior guard Sean Armand combined for 56 points in the win.
Jones is the MAAC's scoring leader averaging 22.9 points. He is shooting 45% from the field with 43 three-pointers, and leads the league with a 88.0% free-throw shooting percentage.
Armand is right behind Jones on the MAAC's scoring list in third with a 18.0 points per game. Armand leads the conference with 92 three-pointers and is shooting 43.2% beyond the arc.
Gaels' big man David Laury, a 6'8", 240-pound native of South Orange, N.J., is the third Iona player averaging double-figures with a 13.1 scoring average. He leads the team averaging 11.0 rebounds and he is shooting 51.9% from the field.
Iona tops the MAAC in scoring offense with 82.6 points per game. The Gaels are also the top shooting team in the league with a 45.8% field goal mark and 76.6% free-throw percentage.
