Jaspers' rally is too little, too late to beat Rutgers

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Manhattan basketball’s early-season schedule has taken the team to many places — from the Florida Panhandle to northern Massachusetts, a casino in Connecticut and a village in Virginia.

After dominating Marist in their only game in Riverdale so far this season on Dec. 7, the Jaspers’ journey took them to the self-proclaimed World’s Most Famous Arena — Madison Square Garden.

Manhattan rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit, but could not overcome its Big Ten foe from New Jersey, Rutgers, in a 63-55 loss in the Holiday Festival on Dec. 14. The Jaspers are 2-6 on the season, with an overtime loss at UMass and a loss at George Mason on a length-of-the-court buzzer beater. More importantly, they are 1-1 in conference play, losing at Fairfield and beating Marist.

They’ll continue MAAC play in the new year, but for now, their focus is on finishing a difficult non-conference slate, including a trip to Pittsburgh of the ACC that was scheduled for Wednesday night and a game in New York City’s other pro arena, Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, on Monday against Fordham of the Atlantic-10.

“We’re not an A-10 or ACC or Big Ten school,” Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said at a press conference after his team’s fourth loss in five games. “I think I did a really bad job on our schedule, and then you combine injuries. 

“I think sometimes we’ve been victims of our success. A lot of these games, we’re not supposed to win. But everyone is thinking, ‘Well, Manhattan should win that game.’ Why? We’re a MAAC school ... When you don’t play in your building for a month, even the Lakers in the 80s would’ve struggled.”

Senior forward Emmy Andujar led Manhattan with 21 points and nine rebounds against the Scarlet Knights (6-4). He shot 7-of-11 from the field despite a missed dunk in the first half, and had four assists and three steals while playing 39 of a possible 40 minutes. But his former teammate at the since-closed Rice High School in Harlem, Rutgers big man Kadeem Jack, scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds and three blocks.

Manhattan College, basketball, Rutgers, Steve Masiello, Chris Mascaro
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