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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan erased a late four-point deficit with six-straight points en route to ripping off a game-ending 12-4 run in a thrilling 73-69 win over Morgan State at Draddy Gymnasium.
Junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) scored 20 points - fueled by 4-of-6 shooting from long range - and became the school's all-time three-point leader (167) with his fourth triple of the game while besting Devon Austin's previous mark of 166.
With the victory the Jaspers improve to 3-7 while the Bears fall to 2-10.
The game was a back-and-forth affair that featured 18 lead changes and 12 ties with neither team leading by more than six at any point.
Early in the second half with Morgan State holding a slim 51-49 lead with 12:42 to play, sophomore Rich Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Vermont Academy (Vt.)) canned a three pointer while reclaiming the lead for Manhattan and starting a 10-2 run. Classmate Jermaine Lawrence (Queens, N.Y. / Cincinnati) followed with a pair a jumpers before Cedric Blossom briefly answered with a layup. Williams then bookended the spurt with another three pointer to give the Jaspers their largest lead of the night at 59-53 with 10:32 to play.
However, Morgan State rattled off seven-straight points in taking a 60-59 lead with 6:47 to play. After the teams exchanged baskets, Torin Childs-Harris hit what appeared to be a back-breaking three pointer to open up a 65-61 Bear lead with just 3:15 remaining.
On the ensuing play, Richards drew a foul before Morgan State was whistled for a technical. Following the media stoppage, Richards canned all four free throws to tie the game up and reach the 20-point mark for the second time in his career.
Senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, N.Y. / Robinson School (N.J.) followed with a steal before senior Emmy Andujar (Bronx, N.Y. / Rice) found sophomore Tyler Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) for a layup that would ultimately put Manhattan up for good at 67-65 with 1:53 remaining.
The Bears would cut the deficit to one on a pair of occasions only to misfire on some pivotal late free throw attempts. Wilson split a pair from the line before Stores hit two and Pankey split a pair to help the Jaspers close out the pesky visitors by a 73-69 count.
Andujar joined Richards in double-figures, scoring 10 of his 16 points after halftime while adding a game-high six assists and five rebounds. Lawrence matched his career-high with nine points while Pankey pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
Morgan State's Zech Smith scored 19 points with 15 rebounds to lead all players while Cedric Blossom (18) and Blake Bozeman (12) notched double-figures in scoring.
Manhattan shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) from the floor, including 45.0 percent (9-for-20) from deep, while pressuring the Bears into a season-high matching 19 turnovers.
Despite shooting just 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the line, the Jaspers made good on a blistering 80.0 percent (8-for-10) in the game's final five minutes in helping to secure the team's first win by five points or less this season after recording seven a year ago.
Manhattan will have little time to celebrate as the Jaspers will square off with Fordham at the Barclays Center on Monday, Dec. 22 at 6 p.m.
