JASPERS BEAT STAGS
After the humiliation Manhattan had suffered Saturday – losing to rival Iona by 20 and losing center Herve Banogle to a fight-related suspension – the Jaspers needed redemption. That’s exactly what they earned last night, with a 65-60 home win over Fairfield that was far more hard work than work of art.
The Jaspers still struggled to score, and their foul shooting was still, well, foul. But they made just enough plays and played just enough defense to win at Draddy Gym. Clinging to a tenuous 54-53 lead after a 13-point cushion was shaved to a single point, they scored five straight to put the game away.
“Our last game we felt really embarrassed. We wanted to make up for it, play as hard as we possibly could, no matter what,” said Darryl Crawford, who tied Chris Smith with a game-high 16 points. “We had to be hungry and pull this one out.”
Banogle’s suspension forced Crawford to start in a three-guard lineup and left 6-foot-6 Andrew Gabriel (nine rebounds) as the Jaspers’ only big man. But Crawford (cramp) and forward Devon Austin (back) played through injuries and Manhattan (11-9, 5-5 MAAC) climbed into a four-way tie for fourth place in the MAAC.
“After the last game we played, everybody said, ‘Yo, we’ve got to get it together, turn it around.’ We came out and played with heart,” Smith said. “At the Garden, nobody played with heart. But we’re going to play like [this] the rest of the season.”
That would be playing the kind of tough defense that had All-MAAC Stags guard Jonathan Han out-of-sorts, shooting 2-for-12 with a game-high five turnovers. Tied 25-all at halftime, Crawford followed Smith’s 3-pointer with a layup and 3 of his own for a 33-25 cushion. They never trailed again, despite some drama.
Leading 54-45, they allowed eight unanswered points to see the lead shrivel to one. But the Jaspers clamped down on defense, forcing Greg Nero to go 0-for-3 with a turnover during a stretch that cost Fairfield (12-9, 5-5) the game. Antoine Pearson’s driving layup made it 59-53 with 1:35 left, and the game was over.
Manhattan 65 Fairfield 60
