Richards' Double-Double Lifts Manhattan To 63-60 Win At Canisius

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - Junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) notched his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead Manhattan to a gritty 63-60 win over Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center while preserving a split of the Jaspers' annual Western New York trek.

Richards was an impressive 5-for-9 from long range, including three of which reclaimed the lead for Manhattan, en route to scoring 12 of his game-high 18 markers after halftime.

With the win, the Jaspers improve to 5-8 and 2-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference while the Golden Griffins fall to 7-6 and 2-2 in the league.

Trailing 58-56 with just over six minutes to play following a Zach Lewis three pointer, Richards ran off a curl and drained his fifth three pointer of the game to give Manhattan what would prove to be an insurmountable 59-58 lead with 5:41 to go.

The teams would then go cold over the next two-plus minutes before senior RaShawn Stores (Bronx, N.Y. / Robinson School (N.J.)) canned this three pointer to push the lead out to 62-58 with 2:47 remaining.

Canisius then quickly answered with a Phil Valenti bucket on the ensuing possession. The Golden Griffins would then force a turnover but were unable to answer as Valenti missed a jumper from the left foul line extended. After Pankey grabbed the rebound, sophomore Tyler Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes) split a pair from the line to make it a 63-60 game with 1:08 to play.

The Manhattan zone defense then forced Canisius into an errant pass that sailed out of bounds while giving the Jaspers the ball back with just over 48 seconds remaining on the clock.

However, on the ensuing possession junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland) was fouled immediately but was whistled for a contact technical foul in the process. Pankey then misfired on the front end before the Golden Griffins attempted their two technical free throws. However, Canisius misfired on both before coming up short on a pair of layup attempts.

In the crazy final minute, the Golden Griffins had one more chance to tie when Stores missed the front end of a free throw. However, the Jasper defense held strong in forcing Lewis into an errant three point attempt as Pankey grabbed the game-clinching rebound.

Sophomore Rich Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Vermont Academy (Vt.)) joined Richards in double-figures with 12 points, on 5-of-8 shooting. The point-guard tandem of Stores (9 points, 4 assists) and Wilson (6 points, 4 assists) combined for 15 points and eight assists, against just one turnover.

In the first half, Manhattan used a quick 8-0 run to build a 10-2 lead with just over 17 minutes remaining. The lead would grow to 10 on four occasions before Canisius whittled the lead down to 27-25 with 4:28 to play until halftime as Lewis capped a five-point spurt with a jumper.

However, in what would prove to be an overriding storyline when the Golden Griffins punched, the Jaspers punched back. Freshman Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Fayetteville Academy) answered with a pair from the line as the Manahttan went into the break up 34-31.

In the first half, the Jaspers shot a blistering 57.9 percent (11-for-19), including 75.0 percent (9-for-12) from inside the arc. Canisius, meanwhile, shot 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from the floor, but misfired on all nine three-point attempts.

After halftime, the Golden Griffins rallied from a pair of six-point deficits with 7-0 spurts in taking one-point leads only to see Manhattan answer each time while setting the stage for the aforementioned exciting ending.

For the game, the Jaspers shot 48.8 percent (21-for-43) from the floor while winning the rebounding battle (33-32). The visitors also shot 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from long range, including 50.0 percent (7-for-14) in the second half.

Defensively, Manhattan limited Canisius into just 39.3 percent (22-for-56) shooting, including a paltry 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from deep.

In defeat, the Golden Griffins outscored the Jaspers in the paint (24-18), off turnovers (17-10), in second-chance opportunities (8-5), on fast break opportunities (7-2) and from the bench (31-19).

Canisius was led by Jermaine Crumpton's team-high 16 points off the bench while Josiah Heath added 10 points.

After playing 11 of its first 13 games away from home, Manhattan will host Saint Peter's on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.

Manhattan University Athletics