LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Manhattan Jaspers Men's Basketball team (6-8, 2-1 MAAC) edged the Broncs of Rider University (1-11, 0-3) by a score of 74-71 inside Alumni Gymnasium on Monday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- On a mission to start with two conference victories in its first three tries were the Jaspers, who were facing a Rider team that it had defeated last season by one point on the road.
- Getting things started for the Jaspers was the dynamic duo of Jaden Winston and Erik Oliver-Bush, who combined for the first five points of the evening, with the latter securing a booming triple to bring the deficit within one.
- The opposition put together a pair of successful drives before Winston cashed in on back-to-back threes in consecutive sequences, before Terrance Jones added one of his own to, once again, bring Manhattan within one.
- Continuing his hot stretch was Anthony Isaac, who powered his way to a basket plus one to tie the contest at 17 mid-way through the first stanza.
- Rider countered with another triple, before Winston again added five of his own points consecutively to leapfrog the Broncs for its first lead of the evening.
- The Jaspers and Broncs would trade baskets before Marko Ljubicic joined the three-pointer party to put the Green and White ahead for the second time in the half.
- Out of the locker room in red hot fashion was Fraser Roxburgh and the Green and White, who tacked on another trey to cut Riders' lead to just one possession.
- Taking advantage of Riders' foul trouble were the Jaspers and Oliver-Bush, who drew a shooting foul to bring the team's deficit to three once again, before Winston's jumper narrowed its margin even more.
- Back in front again were the Jaspers, who got some much-needed assistance from Jones with a floater to go back in front once again.
- In the waning minutes of the contest, it was Isaac again, who found the basket and drew a marquee and one opportunity to tie the game at 64, seconds shy of four minutes remaining.
- After Dinkins pulled his team within one, it was a Rider turnover that led to the Isaac layup attempt, before capturing his own rebound, and netting the second chance bucket to pull ahead one final time to secure the much-needed victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Junior forward Anthony Isaac posted his third straight double-double on five-of-14 shooting, while corralling 12 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Additionally, Isaac added four free throws in eight total attempts.
- Junior guard Jaden Winston paced the Green and White with 17 points on six-of-10 shooting and a trio of three-pointers, with two steals in a game-high 38 minutes.
- Graduate guard Terrance Jones supplied 15 points in four-of-10 from the field, with a perfect six-of-six from the charity stripe, two steals, and three rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
- Redshirt junior guard Devin Dinkins added 10 points, with two steals and two assists in 32 minutes of game time.
- The Jaspers won the battle of bench points, supplying 29 compared to Riders' seven.
- Manhattan won the defensive rebound battle, out-rebounding the Broncs 24-23, while adding nine steals compared to seven.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Junior Guard
Jaden Winston: "It's conference play. We came into the game knowing it would be a battle. We fought for each other. We got the victory tonight, and that's all that matters."
NEXT UP
The Jaspers are back in action on Friday, January 2, when the Green and White continue conference play against the Bobcats of Quinnipiac University, inside Draddy Gymnasium, beginning at 7 p.m. The contest can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
