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Riverdale, NY - Winners of two in a row, Manhattan (7-11; 2-5 MAAC) concludes its three-game homestand on against longtime rival Iona (10-8; 3-4 MAAC) on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00 pm.
TOP STORYLINES
#1 - The Gaels have swept the regular season series in each of the last two years and captured the 2016 MAAC Championship.
#2 - With a win tonight, Steve Masiello would become the fifth coach in school history to reach 100 victories.
#3 - The Jaspers picked up their second-straight victory last Friday, defeating Rider 76-73 on ESPNU thanks to a career-high 35 points from junior Zane Waterman.
QUICK HITS
* Waterman scored 26 of his 35 points after halftime while junior Zavier Turner registered at least 20 points for the third-straight game, finishing with 23.
* The duo went a combined 15-of-31 (.484) from the floor and 24-of-29 (.828) from the line while giving Manhattan two 20-point scorers for a second-straight game.
* Waterman's 35 markers are the most scored by a Masiello-coached player and the most by a Jasper since George Beamon had 35 in an 84-81 win over Siena on February 13, 2011.
* Waterman, who has started 45 straight games for the Jaspers, ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (13.3 ppg-18th), rebounding (7.0 rpg-7th), FG percentage (.542-4th) and FT percentage (.742-14th).
* Turner, who also scored 23 points at Quinnipiac and 21 in the win over Niagara last week, ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (16.9 ppg-7th), FT percentage (.912-2nd), 3-point percentage (.452-3rd), assists (3.5 apg-8th) and 3's per game (2.1-11th).
* The Ball State transfer has scored at least 20 points seven times this year and 13 in his career.
* Manhattan, which trailed by two at halftime against the Broncs, has been behind at the break in each of its last five wins.
* Waterman bettered his previous high of 26 points set against Fairfield after going for 23 at Morgan State.
* In the final five minutes of games/ot, Turner is averaging 4.2 ppg while shooting 48.7 percent (19-of-39) from the floor and 88.6 percent (31-of-35) from the line. He scored 12 points over the final four minutes in the win over Niagara while going 9-of-10 from the line.
* Turner, recorded 26 points in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn, making good on 7-of-9 from long range, after scoring a career-high 32 points at in the victory at Detroit Mercy, including 10 in overtime, to go along with six assists. He also had 30 against Saint Peter's and 28 at Temple.
* Thanks to Turner's production, the seven Jasper newcomers are averaging a combined 42.1 ppg and 18.7 rpg while accounting for 57.1 percent of the offense and 48.9 percent of the rebounding.
* Manhattan had two players score at least 20 points vs. Niagara for the first time this year with Turner scoring 21 points and junior Calvin Crawford chipping in with a season-high 20.
* Crawford, who has played in 16 games as a reserve, notched 19 in the victory over EKU before hitting for a team-high 18 at Marist. He has notched double-figures in scoring eight times and is averaging 8.6 ppg.
* The Jaspers rallied from a season-high 11 point second-half deficit against the Purple Eagles thanks to forcing 12 second-half turnovers that led to 21 points.
* Over the final 14 minutes, Manhattan outscored Niagara 38-19 while shooting 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from the floor and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the line.
* The Jaspers also drew five charges after recording just one over the previous two games combined and improved to 5-0 when holding the opposition to less than 70 points.
* Manhattan's reserves outscored the starters in the win over EKU (45-36) before matching the second unit against Marist (44-44).
* Junior Thomas Capuano had 13 points and a career-high matching six rebounds in the win over Niagara while classmate Samson Usilo narrowly missed his second-straight double-double with a career-high matching 12 points and nine rebounds.
* At Quinnipiac, Usilo had 12 points and 11 rebounds while notching the first Jasper double-double of the year and was joined in double-figures on the boards by junior Zavier Peart, who added a career-high 10 rebounds.
* Thanks to Usilo and Peart, Manhattan placed two in double-figures on the boards for the first time since Emmy Andujar (11) and Ashton Pankey (10) did so in leading the Jaspers to a 79-69 win over Iona in the 2015 MAAC Championship on March 9, 2015.
* Usilo is averaging 8.8 ppg and 8.0 rpg over the last four games after notching just 1.9 ppg and 2.4 rpg over his first 14 games.
* Peart earned his first collegiate starting nod at Florida State as Manhattan has now used seven different line-ups this year.
* Capuano set a career-high with 18 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and four steals in 48 minutes of action at Morgan State and is averaging 7.5 ppg.
* Senior Tyler Wilson had a season-best matching 10 points against Fairfield while freshman Aaron Walker Jr. added 14 points and classmate Na'Quan Council chipped in with 10.
* Wilson handed out four assists, against just one turnover, in the win over Niagara while moving past Jason Wingate into eighth place on the program's all-time assist list and now has 341 after handing out a season-high five in the win over Rider.
* The Bronx native had the momentum-changing three-point play that gave the Jaspers the lead for good in the win over Fordham after drawing the game-clinching charge at Detroit Mercy.
* Sophomore Ak Ojo pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against Fairfield after scoring a career-high nine points in the win over Detroit Mercy.
* Freshman Aaron Walker Jr. earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors earlier this year after averaging 12.3 ppg and 3.3 rpg over three games during the week ending November 20, fueled by a career-high 15-point effort against Winthrop and is averaging 8.7 ppg.
* Freshman Na'Quan Council scored a career-high 12 points with five assists and five steals in the win over EKU.
* Manhattan concluded non-conference play with a 27-point come-from-behind victory over EKU thanks to recording a season-high 13 steals.
* The 13 thefts are the most since recording 13 in a win over Quinnipiac on March 1, 2015 while the 27-point margin of victory was the third-highest in Masiello's six years on campus.
* Over the last three-plus years, the Jaspers are 25-3 when recording double-figures in steals and 36-6 since Masiello took over prior to the 2011-2012 season.
* Manhattan has won the rebounding battle in 14 of its 18 games while ranking first in the MAAC in rebounding margin (+4.0) and second in rebounding defense (34.8) while registering at least 40 caroms seven times, highlighted by a season-high 51 at Marist, including 21 offensive caroms.
* The Jaspers are 3-0 this year when limiting teams to less than 60 points (EKU (54), SFBK (54) & Fordham (53) and 38-4 during Masiello's six years.
* The 51 rebounds are the most since registering the same number in a season-opening 99-90 victory at La Salle on November 9, 2013.
* Manhattan opened the second half against EKU on a 23-5 run, including 12-straight at one point after ripping off a 13-4 run to start the second half against SFBK.
* After halftime, the Jaspers limited the Colonels to just 37.2 percent shooting, including 29.4 percent from deep, and the Terriers to just 30.9 percent, including 24.0 percent from long range.
* Thanks to the aforementioned total second-half performance against EKU, Manhattan scored a season-high 53 second-half points while shooting 68.0 percent (17-of-25) from the floor.
* In the win over Detroit Mercy, the Jaspers went 9-for-12 from the line in overtime with Walker Jr. sinking two free throws to tie the game up with 0.7 seconds remaining in the first extra session.
* In an 80-68 win over Hofstra, Manhattan shot a blistering 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the floor, including a perfect 100 percent (17-for-17) from the line, and scored on seven of the Pride's nine first-half turnovers, parlaying the miscues into 17 points.
* Setting the tone for the Jaspers was Peart, who scored 14 points in the opening half while connecting on all seven of his shots en route to finishing with a career-high 16.
* Manhattan finished non-conference play with a 5-6 record with its six losses coming to teams that have a combined 74-33 record (.692), including games against No. Florida State and WVU, both of whom are ranked in the top-10.
* The Jaspers were slated to finish sixth in the annual preseason MAAC Coaches Poll with Williams earning All-MAAC Second Team honors.
* Williams and Wilson, the team's lone scholarship seniors, have helped Manhattan to a 64-51 record during their three-plus years with two MAAC titles, two trips to the NCAA Tournament and a MAAC-best 7-1 conference tourney record.
* Williams, who has yet to play this year for the Jaspers due to injury, averaged 14.8 ppg and a team-best 6.0 rpg last year, highlighted by seven 20-plus point performances and three double-doubles. Additionally, he raised both his scoring (+9.3 ppg) and rebounding (+4.5 rpg) numbers.
* Last year, Williams averaged 21.0 ppg against Iona, highlighted by a career-high 27 in the team's match-up at Draddy, while Waterman notched 15.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg.
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 99-82 (.547) record, including going 60-43 (.583) during MAAC play and 47-22 (.681) at Draddy Gym over his six seasons with three MAAC Title Game appearances, three postseason berths, two Metropolitan Coach of the Year honors and two 20-win campaigns.
* Masiello has participated in the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 20 seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Title.
* Since returning to Riverdale, Masiello has guided the Jaspers 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 Titles and three 20-plus win seasons. All told, Masiello has been a member of four of Manhattan's five MAAC Championship teams and five of the school's 12 20-win seasons in recording a 182-118 record.
* In his 21st season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 462-228, including 341-200 on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship Game appearances, two Final Fours, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
