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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan (4-8; 1-2 MAAC) aims for its fourth win in its last five games against Siena (9-5; 2-1 MAAC) on Monday, January 4 at 7:00 pm on ESPN3.
TOP STORYLINES
#1 - The Saints defeated the Jaspers 89-54 in the teams' last match-up on December 4, 2015 in the MAAC opener for both teams.
#2 - Manhattan leads the all-time series with Siena by a 51-41 count, including going 18-8 at Draddy since the Saints joined the MAAC for the 1989-1990 season.
#3 - The Jaspers have won five-straight at home against Siena by an average of 14.4 points per game.
QUICK HITS
* Over the last four games, Manhattan is averaging 71.2 points per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, including 40.8 percent from deep.
* During that time, senior Shane Richards is averaging 17.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while junior Rich Williams checks in with 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds each time out.
* The Jaspers defeated Fairfield 72-66 on Saturday thanks to pulling down a season-high 44 rebounds while notching double-figures in steals (10) for the third time.
* With the win, Head Coach Steve Masiello improved to 58-32 (.644) against MAAC opposition, including 30-10 (.750) at Draddy Gymnasium.
* Manhattan is 4-0 this year when limiting the opposition to less than 70 points and is 33-6 over the last three years. When forcing at least 10 steals, the Jaspers are 3-0 this year and 21-2 since the start of 2013-2014.
* Manhattan closed out the win by holding Fairfield scoreless over the final 3:25 as the Stags missed four shots, turned it over twice and came away empty-handed on each of their final eight possessions.
* Against Fairfield, the Jaspers also limited the opposition to less than 40 percent shooting for the first time this year and are 21-6 over the last three years when doing so.
* Sophomore Calvin Crawford notched a career-high 14 points and five rebounds in the win over Fairfield, including pulling down two huge defensive caroms in the final minute. After missing the first nine games due to injury, he is averaging 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
* Classmate Zane Waterman also had 14 points with seven rebounds while recording double-figures in points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He began the week with 23 points and seven rebounds at Eastern Kentucky. On the week, he averaged 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the floor and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from line.
* Waterman scored 37 points, including 33 after halftime, last week in exactly 37 minutes of action.
* His 23-point outing at EKU is the 10th Manhattan 20-point performance of the year while marking the ninth game that a Jasper has hit the 20-point plateau this season.
* Waterman, who scored 22 points against Columbia, ranks among the league leaders in scoring (10.9 ppg-26th), rebounding (5.6 rpg-15th), field goal percentage (.500-8th), three-point percentage (.394-9th) and offensive rebounding (2.2 opg-9th).
* Williams matched Crawford and Waterman in the win over Fairfield with 14 points, fueled by three dunks, and a team-high nine rebounds while pacing the squad on the glass for the eighth time this year.
* Over the last seven games, Williams is averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with two double-doubles while shooting 47.3 percent (43-of-91) from the floor and 88.0 percent (22-of-25) from the line.
* He notched his second double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds) in the win over Morgan State after registering his first against Columbia (17 points, 11 rebounds).
* Williams has hit for at least 20 points four times, highlighted by career-high 26 in the victory over George Mason.
* On the year, Williams, who has paced the squad in scoring four times, is among the MAAC leaders in scoring (16.4 ppg-7th), rebounding (6.9 rpg-7th), defensive rebounds (5.1 drpg-3rd), offensive rebounds (1.8 orpg-13th) and free throw percentage (.776-13th).
* Williams has improved both his scoring (+10.9 ppg) and rebounding (+5.4) numbers from a year ago.
* Over the last seven games, opposing shooters are making good on just 27.1 percent (26-of-96) from deep with the Jaspers winning the battle of the boards five times.
* In the victory over Morgan State, senior Shane Richards converted a career-high seven three pointers en route to matching his career-high of 28 points with seven caroms.
* Richards, who hit for 19 points with seven rebounds in the victory over St. Francis Brooklyn, is averaging 17.5 points and 6.8 rebounds each time out over the last four games.
* Richards, who scored a game-high 26 points in the first match-up with Siena, has notched double-figures in points a team-leading 11 times, including hitting for least 20 points on four occasions (11 career), while pacing the squad in scoring six times.
* For his career, he is averaging 13.9 points each time out against the Saints while shooting 36.0 percent (18-of-50) from deep.
* A 2015-2016 All-MAAC Preseason Second Team selection, Richards was the hero in the first Manhattan win of the year, a 69-67 come-from-behind triumph over George Mason, thanks to banking in a jumper with 1.2 seconds to play. He also became the 37th member of the school's 1,000-point club earlier in the night.
* The New York native ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (17.5ppg-5th), free throw percentage (.825-5th), threes (2.3/game-6th), defensive rebounds (4.1 drpg-12th) and minutes (37.1-2nd).
* From long range, Richards has converted at least three triples in 53 of his 110 games, including at least four 29 times, and is the school's single-season (92-2015) and career (262) leader in threes. When he connects on four in a game, the Jaspers are 19-10, including 15-7 over the last three seasons.
* The duo of Richards and Williams also became the first Manhattan set of teammates to each notch 20 points in a game this year in the win over Morgan State and are second in the league with a combined 33.9 points per game.
* Helping fuel the Jaspers' season-high 78 points in the win over Morgan State was junior Tyler Wilson, who handed out a career-high matching 10 assists with nine points. Wilson has paced the squad in assists in each of Manhattan's 12 games.
* Wilson's dished out 10 assists, against one turnover, against Marist, which was the first double-figure performance by a Jasper student-athlete since Von Damien Green notched 10 against Saint Peter's on January 30, 2002.
* Wilson, who has also handed out at least five dimes on eight occasions, leads the MAAC and is 22nd nationally with 6.1 per game while also ranking among the MAAC leaders in steals (1.5 spg-6th) and assist-turnover ratio (1.6-6th).
* Since Masiello took over five years ago, Manhattan is 32-5 when hitting the 10-steal standard while ranking second in the MAAC and 56th nationally with 7.9 per game. Freshman Thomas Capuano is third in the league and 45th nationally with 2.0 per game and has six multi-steal performances this year.
* Capuano, who scored a career-high 14 against George Mason, also registered double-figures in scoring for the third time this year, finishing with 10 points the last time out and is averaging 5.6 points per game.
* The Jaspers forced at least 18 turnovers for the fifth time this season in the win over Fairfield and rank 36th nationally with a MAAC-best 15.8 forced turnovers each time out.
* During Masiello's tenure, Manhattan is 19-9 when forcing the opposition into at least 20 turnovers.
* Against Marist, Stores scored a career-high 18 points, fueled by a career-high matching five three pointers, and is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 assists (13th MAAC) per game on the year while making good on 45.5 percent (15-of-33) (4th MAAC) from long range.
* For his career, Stores, a 2015-2016 All-MAAC Preseason Third Team selection, is shooting 42.6 percent (60-of-141) on threes after halftime, including making good on 47.3 percent (35-of-74) since the start of last year. Stores also has a 3.61 assist/turnover ratio (47 assists/13 TO) over the last two years in the second half.
* The Jaspers are 39-20 over the last three years when Stores, who was granted an extra year of eligibility on July 22, 2015 by the NCAA, starts including going 17-8 last year.
* Both Richards & Stores are the only MAAC student-athletes to have played in each of the last three conference title games and have been a part of 61 total wins, including going 8-1 during MAAC Tournament play.
* Sophomore Samson Akilo matched his career-highs with four points and two rebounds in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn and has started each of the last four games.
* The most recent Manhattan line-up of Stores, Wilson, Richards, Akilo and Waterman is the eighth different set of starters employed by Masiello this season.
* The Jaspers are 39-4 when leading at the half over the last three seasons, including going a perfect 15-0 a year ago. Additionally, since the start of last season Manhattan is 19-2 when leading with five minutes to play and 14-11 in games decided by 10 points or less.
* Also, over the last three years, the Jaspers are 33-6 when holding teams to less than 70 points, 21-6 when limiting teams to less than 40 percent shooting, 25-8 when winning the battle of the boards and 30-13 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition.
* Masiello, who holds a career record of 83-61 (50-29 MAAC), set the school-record for MAAC Tournament wins a year ago with his eighth against Iona while breaking current ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla's previous mark.
* Since returning to Riverdale, Masiello has led Manhattan to a pair of MAAC Titles as well as a pair of 20-plus win campaigns. In his first tenure, he was a part of two MAAC Championships and three 20-plus win seasons. All told, Masiello has been a member of four of the five Jasper MAAC Championship teams and five of Manhattan's 12 20-win seasons in accruing a 166-97 record.
* In his 20th season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 444-207, including 323-179 on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship appearances, two Final Four appearances, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
Manhattan, which finished up non-conference play with a 3-6 record, faced an arduous slate that consisted of four games against teams that qualified for the postseason a year ago, including three that participated in the NIT (Saint Mary's, Bucknell, St. Francis Brooklyn). Additionally, six of the non-conference opponents have qualified for the NCAA Tourney this decade.
FOR STARTERS
Manhattan has used eight different starting line-ups through their first 12 games.
INJURIES APLENTY
The Jaspers have had seven players (six scholarship) miss a total of 39 games due to injury this year.
MORGAN STATE WRAP-UP
Manhattan is now 3-1, all-time, against Morgan State thanks to the play of Richards over the last two years. The senior forward is averaging 24.0 points per game against the Bears while making good on 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from distance.
SEASON HIGHS
Manhattan registered season highs in points (78), threes (10) and free throw percentage (.870) in its 78-66 victory at Morgan State
ST. FRANCIS STATS
The Jaspers improved to 52-19, all-time, with their 71-60 win over the Terriers while establishing season-highs in field goal percentage (.556), three-point field goal percentage (.615) and steals (11).
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
Manhattan scored a season-high 43 second-half points at Eastern Kentucky while establishing season-highs in field goal percentage (.577) and three-point field goal percentage (.636) after halftime.
HIGH FIVE
The Jaspers played with just five scholarship players (six total) against George Mason while rallying from a 16-point deficit, which was the largest overcome since battling back from an 18-point margin at Iona on January 12, 2012. Manhattan also made just eight substitutions in the aforementioned victory against the Patriots and played the final 10:48 with the same line-up.
THIEVERY
The Jaspers forced a season-high 25 turnovers in the win over George Mason - fueled by six drawn charges - leading to a 24-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The 25 were the most forced since Manhattan turned Niagara over 25 times in a 78-77 victory on February 9, 2014.
IRON MEN
Five times this season a student-athlete has played 40 minutes in a game (Williams 2x, Capuano, Richards, Wilson).
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Richards, who became the 37th member of the school's 1,000-point club in the win over George Mason, is currently 26th with 1,150 points.
THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Manhattan is slated to appear on the ESPN family of networks 11 times during the 2015-2016 season, including 10 during MAAC play. The Jaspers will next play on ESPN3 against Siena on Monday, January 4.
110TH SEASON OF JASPERS BASKETBALL
In its 110th season, the Manhattan men's basketball program boasts a 1331-1178 overall record and 272-284 MAAC mark in 35 seasons as a conference member. The Jaspers' storied men's basketball team was established in 1904-05 and took a two-year hiatus during the 1943-44 and 1944-45 season due to World War II.
UP NEXT
Manhattan is at Canisius on Thursday, January 7 with opening tip slated for 7:00 pm.
