E. RUTHERFORD REGION
Wake Forest 84
Manhattan 80
RALEIGH – The Jaspers do not live to play another day. They did not survive, nor did they advance. But they sure distinguished themselves on the ride of their lives.
Hanging in and never backing down, No. 12 seed Manhattan pecked and clawed and generally made yesterday afternoon a pain in the butt for Wake Forest. The Jaspers only led for 16 seconds, but they fought for the full 40 minutes before falling to the Demon Deacons 84-80 in an East Rutherford Region second-round NCAA Tournament game at the RBC Center.
Fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-9) goes onto the Sweet 16 in the Meadowlands to face the winner of the St. Joseph’s-Texas Tech game.
The Jaspers, who trailed 42-28 at halftime, were within 80-78 with 1:48 remaining when Jason Benton put back a Kenny Minor miss. Chris Paul, Wake Forest’s wonderful freshman point guard, nearly lost control of the ball but managed to bank in a layup for an 82-78 Wake lead. Luis Flores, who capped a brilliant career with 20 points, then passed to Benton, who missed wildly from the baseline.
Manhattan caught a break when Justin Gray missed two free throws and Wake Forest center Eric Williams then fouled out, stupidly committing a foul after Dave Holmes missed a 3-pointer. With 44.2 seconds to go, Holmes made two of three foul shots to pull Manhattan within 82-80.
Holmes forced a jump ball against Paul but Wake kept the ball with 13.6 seconds left. A rare defensive blunder then cost the Jaspers, as Trent Strickland broke free and Paul found him for an uncontested dunk with 11.1 left. Flores missed a hurried 3-point try and that was that.
Paul wrecked the Jaspers, scoring 29 points and adding eight rebounds and six assists.
Anyone who has seen the grit displayed all season by the Jaspers knew they wouldn’t wilt when confronted with the difficulty of facing an ACC heavyweight in the heart of ACC country. This wasn’t the overwhelming crowd support that Duke received in its opening game rout of Seton Hall, but the yellow-and-black clad Demon Deacon fans far outnumbered the Manhattan loyalists who made the trip.
What the 19,722 got for the price of their tickets was a shining example of what coach Bobby Gonzalez has built at Manhattan. The Jaspers stood toe-to-toe with Wake Forest, falling behind, plowing back.
The Jaspers (25-6) head home to Riverdale leaving no once of effort behind. Trailing 50-37, Manhattan used a quick-strike 9-0 surge, punctuated by Jason Wingate’s 3-pointer, to climb back within 50-46.
At the start, the Jaspers tried to get the ball out of Paul’s hands by trapping him in the backcourt, forcing him to pass ahead to an open teammate. Good luck. The Jaspers never uncovered any answers for the heralded freshman sensation, as Paul did what he pleased, ravaging the feisty but ineffective defensive efforts of guards Jason Wingate and Kenny Minor.
Cagey as well as talented, Paul bided his time and then pounced. He didn’t score for the first nine minutes. Manhattan was even at 16 after a Flores drive, and apparently, Paul had seen enough. He immediately answered with a driving 3-point play and Wake Forest never trailed again.
