Manhattan Basketball

If it wasn't official before, it most definitely has to be now. The Manhattan College Jaspers need to purge themselves of head coach Barry Rohrssen upon the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.

Forget that Rohrssen's players, with the exception of Darryl Crawford, have not developed under him.

You can also forget that he couldn't keep Rashad Green and Chris Smith in Riverdale.

You can even forget that Rohrssen is as clueless as the typical grandma when it comes to designing an offense and adjusting a game plan.

What matters now is that the Jaspers are 7-14 with a dreadful 2-9 record in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. With seven conference games remaining, the Jaspers, once again, cannot finish above .500 in a league with the No. 15 RPI.

Games against second place Iona, third place Fairfield, fourth place Saint Peter's, and an underachieving but talented Niagara team appear on the Jaspers' upcoming schedule.

Loyola Md. (twice) and Marist, the other two teams on Manhattan's slate, are both beatable. However, the sole 'W' on Marist's resume came against the crew from Riverdale.

It is not inconceivable to say that the Jaspers could lose out. After all, they have dropped 11 of their last 12.

Sure, they'll most likely pick up a victory at home versus Marist and they'll most likely knock off one or two more opponents. But, three, four, or five conference wins is not respectable and unacceptable.

Even if the Jaspers were to win out, they would be incapable of passing first place Siena, who eliminated Manhattan from the race for first with a win over Saint Peter's tonight. Yes, with seven games left, the Jaspers know they cannot capture first place.

If this were an "off" year, it would be different. However, the fact is that Rohrssen has not made the Jaspers into a winner after four years. With the exception of a 10-8 MAAC record in 2006-07, the Jaspers have not eclipsed .500 in conference.

In the Rohrssen era, the Jaspers have only finished above .500 once.

The consistent losing is a result of minimal—which might be an overstatement—player development, weak recruiting, and a confounding, ineffective coaching strategy.

It's time for the Manhattan athletic department to find a replacement for their incompetent head coach.

For more Manhattan, MAAC, and mid-major basketball, follow Ari Kramer on Twitter by clicking here.

Manhattan had so many chances to end Siena's perfect season on Sunday, but could not convert, letting down Jasper fans once again in a 66-58 loss.

If there was a chance for a team in the MAAC to beat Siena, this might have been it. Edwin Ubiles was not playing due to an injury, and the Saints have had trouble at Draddy Gymnasium in the past. In 2008, the Saints lost 73-72, and in 2009, the Saints only won 68-64 in a hard fought game.

Manhattan (7-13, 2-8 MAAC), had no response for Alex Franklin. At 6'5", Franklin has the ability to rebound, play in the post, and take his man off the dribble. Franklin scored the first two field goals for Siena (17-4, 10-0 MAAC) , dunking over Manhattan's Andrew Gabriel and then slamming back a missed layup by Ronald Moore.

Manhattan stayed close with the Saints, trailing 16-15 at the 12 minute TV timeout. With 7:34 left, Antoine Pearson was hacked on a layup, but no foul was called. Pearson yelled out to the refs, who had been frustrating both teams early on, and was called for a technical foul.

Siena had a chance to blow the game open if they could hit their free throws and knock down a shot on the next possession. Ryan Rossiter only hit one of the technical free throws, and Owen Wignot turned the ball over 17 seconds later. 

Siena would go up 31-20 with just over four minutes left, and it looked like the game would be over. Manhattan scored on the next possession, and played good defense, leading to a 6-0 run. A buzzer beater jump shot by Siena's Jonathan Breeden gave the Saints a 35-28 halftime lead.

The Jaspers drew eight fouls in the first half, after only drawing five in the first half on Monday. Manhattan made 7-of-8 free throws in the first half, with Darryl Crawford making 6-of-7.

Rico Pickett lead all scorers with 14 points at the half. Pickett made one three-pointer, and also made a clown shot on a fastbreak, as his layup dropped through as he went tumbling to the floor.

Siena came out strong in the second half, taking a double digit lead with 10:03 left on a Ronald Moore jumper. Alex Franklin continued to play great against the weak Jasper big men, scoring 17 points in the second half.

Siena took their a 61-49 lead, their largest of the game, with 5:27 left on a layup by Ryan Rossiter. 

Antoine Pearson then came up the floor and hit a three-pointer for the Jaspers. After Alex Franklin split a pair of free throws, Patrick Bouli hit another three-pointer for the Jaspers and the comeback was on the way. 

With 1:24 left in the game, Patrick Bouli stole the ball from Ryan Rossiter. Bouli threw the ball ahead to Darryl Crawford who lead the 4-on-1 break. Instead of passing the ball up, Crawford took the drive himself and drew a foul on Ryan Rossiter. With the Jaspers down five, Crawford had a chance to make it a one possession game.

Crawford's first free throw hit the back rim and bounced out. Crawford hit his second free throw, cutting the lead to 62-58.

On the ensuing Siena possession, the Saints ran the clock down and Ryan Rossiter missed a jump shot as the shot clock wound down. Rico Pickett grabbed the rebound and ran the Jaspers up the floor. 

Rico Pickett smartly pulled out of a 3-on-2 break, and handed the ball the Patrick Bouli. Instead of running a quick play and scoring in the final minute, the Jaspers ran their slow, boring offense. With 35 seconds left, Antoine Pearson drove to the basket and passed up a chance at a layup where he would have at least gotten fouled, and gave the ball to Darryl Crawford on the wing. Crawford missed a one-handed runner.

Kyle Griffin grabbed the rebound for Siena. Manhattan looked as if they forgot that they had to foul. Nine seconds came off the clock before Patrick Bouli finally fouled Alex Franklin. Franklin, who had been 5-of-9 from the charity stripe entering this trip, hit both free throws. 

Manhattan ran back up the floor and Antoine Pearson missed a jumper. Ryan Rossiter grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Rossiter hit both free throws and Siena won 66-58.

Siena outrebounded Manhattan 39-36. The Saints made 21-of-50 field goals (42.0 percent). The Saints shot 4-of-14 from beyond the arc. Kyle Griffin made all four of the three-pointers.

Alex Franklin scored 27 points, 17 of them in the second half, and grabbed 10 rebounds in 38 minutes. Franklin made two big free throws at the end of the game. Franklin also had two blocks.

Ryan Rossiter scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Rossiter made 10-of-12 free throws. As a team, Siena made 20-of-29 from the line. Rossiter made three steals on the defensive end, but committed five turnovers of his own. Rossiter played all 40 minutes in Sunday's game.

Kyle Griffin scored 12 points on four three-pointers. All of Griffin's three-pointers were in the first half.

Ronald Moore scored four points and dished out five assists.

Clarence Jackson only scored two points on 1-of-9 shooting. Jackson missed all five of his three-pointer attempts.

Manhattan shot 21-of-57 from the field (36.8 percent). The Jaspers converted 12-of-16 free throws, and made 4-of-15 shots from three-point range.

Rico Pickett lead the Jaspers with 20 points. Pickett is now averaging 17.2 points per game on the year, and 22.9 points per game in January, where the Jaspers are 1-7. Pickett shot 9-of-18 from the field.

Darryl Crawford and Brandon Adams each scored nine points and grabbed five boards. Crawford shot 1-of-7 from the field and made 7-of-9 free throws. Crawford also dished four assists. Brandon Adams had three blocks, but shot a poor 4-of-10 from the field. As usual, Adams forced all of his shots.

Djibril Coulibaly scored a career-high eight points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.

Antoine Pearson scored six points on two three-pointers. Pearson picked up a dumb technical foul in the first half. 

Andrew Gabriel continues to add nothing to the offense. Despite not traveling, Gabriel still had four turnovers on three dumb, cross-court passes, and one play where he could not grab the ball. Gabriel scored three points on free throws.

Mohamed Koita, the new addition to the Manhattan Jaspers, did not play at all on Sunday. It was simply confusing that he did not get into the action. 

Siena plays their next game at St. Peter's (12-8, 7-3 MAAC) on Thursday, January 28.

The Jaspers look to end their five game losing streak at Rider (11-11, 4-6 MAAC) on January 28.

For more on the MAAC, follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter by clicking here .

As usual, Manhattan fans filed through the turnstiles to watch the Jaspers play their dreaded rival, the Iona Gaels. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this game, but I will give my recap of what I saw on TV, what I listened to from the announcers, and what I gleaned from the stats.

Manhattan got off to a little bit of a slow start, taking three-and-a-half minutes before scoring their first points on a Rico Pickett jumper. Iona would take a 21-13 lead with 10:19 left in the first half. 

A new reason for Manhattan fans to cheer is the eligibility of Mohamed Koita. Koita was originally committed to UCLA, but after UCLA took away his scholarship, Manhattan swooped in to grab him. Koita sat out of the first 18 and finally got onto the court against the Gaels on Friday night.

With 5:25 remaining in the first half, Koita scored the first points of his career on a jump shot. That would be Koita's only field goal of the game in 25 minutes. 

The Jaspers (7-12, 2-7 MAAC) stayed close with Iona for the remainder of the first half, and the Gaels (14-6, 6-3 MAAC) took a 32-28 advantage into intermission.

With 13:38 left, it looked like all was lost for the Jaspers as Rashard McGill knocked down a three-pointer, capping a 7-0 run by the Gaels and giving Iona a 46-35 lead. Barry Rohrssen signaled for a Manhattan timeout and must have said something in the huddle that got his squad going.

On the second possession after the timeout, still trailing 46-35, Darryl Crawford knocked down a three-pointer. After an Iona turnover, Pickett was fouled and made both free throws. On the ensuing Manhattan possession, Rico Pickett knocked down a jump shot.

The 7-0 run in response to Iona cut the deficit back to four. With 7:45 left, Rico Pickett hit his first three-pointer of the night, making the score 49-48 and the Iona its smallest lead since the 16:16 mark in the first half. Pickett came back on the next possession and made a layup to give Manhattan their first lead since the 16:30 mark in the first half. 

Iona would respond with the next four points, giving the Gaels a two-point, 54-52 lead. However, the Gaels would be held scoreless for the next four minutes. With 3:58 remaining, Mohamed Koita hit a free throw, cutting the lead to one point.

On the next possession, Rico Pickett could not hit a jumper from the wing. Manhattan would get another chance for the lead on the following possession, but Koita could not knock down a three-pointer. Manhattan got two chances on the next possession, but Pickett missed both of his jump shots. 

Manhattan was in need of a defensive stop in the final minute, trailing 54-53. Iona ran the shot clock under 10 seconds. Scott Machado drove to the basket and could not hit the layup. Manhattan grabbed the rebound.

With 17 seconds left, Manhattan called a timeout at midcourt.

Sound familiar? Date back six days and two games.

The Jaspers were tied with Canisius on their home floor after coming back from down 22. They had the ball with 27 seconds and called timeout. Rather than drawing up a play that would free up a good shot, Barry Rohrssen chose to have Rico Pickett run down the clock and take a contested jump shot. Wouldn't Barry learn from his mistakes a week ago in tonight's game? 

Nope.

Once again, Manhattan put the ball in the hands of Rico Pickett as he ran down the clock, waiting for the last shot that would give Manhattan a win. As Pickett went up for a game-winner with four seconds left, he was stripped by Jermel Jenkins. Kyle Smyth scooped up the loose ball and was fouled by Darryl Crawford with 2.1 seconds left, sending Smyth to the line for the first time of the night. Smyth knocked down both free throws, giving Iona a 56-53 advantage.

Kevin Willard chose not to use one of his two timeouts and let the game play on. The Jaspers inbounded to Rico Pickett who put up a half-court shot that was off the mark. The Jaspers dropped another close game at home in a game that could have, and should have, won.

Iona did not have much on the stat sheet on Friday night. The Gaels made 6-of-17 three-pointers for 35.3 percent. Iona only made 10-of-16 free throws for 62.5 percent. Total, the Gaels made 20-of-59 shots for 33.9 percent. The Gaels were outrebounded 39-34, while picking up an average 13 assists. The Gaels played solid, but not outstanding, defense with seven steals and six blocks. The Iona guards handled the ball fairly well against the pesky Manhattan guards, only committing 14 turnovers. 

Rashard McGill led the Gaels in scoring with 13 points. McGill also grabbed seven rebounds.

Kyle Smyth played a solid game with 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. Smyth also hit the two big free throws at the end of the game.

Jermel Jenkins had five points and three steals, one of them being the game-changing steal on Rico Pickett with four seconds left.

Despite having a huge size advantage on the Manhattan big men, Jonathan Huffman only scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds. 

Alejo Rodriguez was plagued with foul trouble and only scored eight points while grabbing four rebounds in 13 minutes.

Scott Machado scored seven points on poor 2-of-11 shooting. Machado had three assists while turning the ball over four times.

The Jaspers also shot 10-of-16 from the charity stripe. The Jaspers made 19-of-58 shots (32.8 %) from the field, and were 5-of-12 (41.7 %) from beyond the arc. Manhattan had 39 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and nine blocks. Manhattan turned the ball 17 times and only committed 14 fouls. 

Rico Pickett led the Jaspers in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-24 shooting, 14 of them coming in the second half. Pickett also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. 

Darryl Crawford showed his A-game on Friday night with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds, and five assists. The only downside to his performance was his five turnovers. Crawford cramped up in the final minute of the game and had to sit out. If he had been available in the final minute, the game could have played out differently with Manhattan having both of their main threats on the floor.

Manhattan's big men really struggled on Friday night. Andrew Gabriel scored four points, Laurence Jolicoeur scored three, and Brandon Adams scored two. Gabriel was the only one of these three to make a field goal. In total, they shot 2-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Andrew Gabriel also had three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Jolicoeur had three rebounds. Adams grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.

Patrick Bouli was in the starting lineup once more on Friday. Bouli scored two points early on, but did not score, or shoot, for the rest of the game. Bouli finished 1-of-1 from the field and missed his only free throw attempt. Bouli grabbed six boards, dished three assists, and swiped two steals.

Antoine Pearson only played 13 minutes off the bench. Pearson did not score, but he dished out three dimes, and grabbed two rebounds.

Mohamed Koita scored three points in his college debut. Koita had a nice bloc in the first half, had one assist, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds (six in the first half). Koita's shooting was not good as he made only 1-of-9 shots. Koita was 0-of-4 from beyond the arc. Koita must be a better shooter if he wants to live up to the hype.

Kevin Laue got to play a minute on national television on Friday night. Laue played the final minute of the first half and made a big defensive stop on a fast break.

Final score: Iona 56, Manhattan 53

Iona returns home to play Fairfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Jaspers host the Siena Saints, who they gave a game on Monday despite losing 83-68, on Sunday at 2 PM.

For more Manhattan MAAC news, follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter by clicking here .

Dating back to 1997, the Manhattan Jaspers and the Iona Gaels, separated by a mere six miles, have played in hard fought, close, exciting games. Since 1997, these two teams have played in four overtime games and 16 of their 26 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.

The most memorable of these games was in the 2005-06 season. Both teams were 13-4 entering the final game of the season, and a conference championship was on the line. Manhattan had already beaten Iona by 19 in their first meeting. The Gaels led by as much as 10 in the second half, but the Jaspers, led by Jeff Xavier, rallied on an 18-7 run to take a one-point lead. Iona retook the lead with just over three minutes left. Jason Wingate responded with a basket to give the Jaspers a 72-70 lead. Wingate later hit two free throws with seven seconds left to ice the game. The Jaspers won 78-74.

The rivalry has died down ever since Jeff Ruland left Iona and Bobby Gonzalez left Manhattan, leaving both teams in shambles. Kevin Willard has led Iona back to being a contender in the MAAC, with a chance at postseason play. Barry Rohrssen has tried to do the same with Manhattan, but every year his team has finished in the middle of the MAAC.

In 2006-07, Iona was a miserable 2-28 and the Jaspers went 13-17. I cannot speak for the game at Iona, but when the Gaels came to Draddy Gymnasium, it was near empty and silent.

Last year, the rivalry started to pick up a little more. In their first meeting of last year, Iona and Manhattan met in Madison Square Garden. Before the game even started, fans were jawing at each other from across the court. Iona fans yelled at the Jasper players as they went through layup lines.

Iona jumped out to an early lead and the Jaspers did not lead once—but that did not keep the players from playing hard and all of the fans from getting involved. 

With under eight minutes to play in the first half, Herve Banogle got an Iona player in a headlock and a fight broke out. Players came a couple of steps out onto the court before refs and both coaches issued them back to the bench. The refs and the coaches ran to the Iona basket to break up the fight and give out technical fouls.

Manhattan would end up being humiliated in the Garden, going 16-56 from the field that day.

However, the tables would turn for Manhattan later in the season. Chris Smith was gelling early on and the Jaspers got an early lead in one of the uglier meetings between these two teams. The Jaspers led 19-11 at halftime.

The Jaspers extended their lead in a better second half and went on to win 52-39, with Chris Smith scoring 19 and Darryl Crawford making all 11 of his free throws.

These teams meet again at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday, Jan. 22. The Gaels have emerged as one of the better teams in the MAAC, currently in third place. Manhattan has had immense struggles as of late and currently are eighth in the MAAC.

Manhattan needs to run the floor on both offense and defense if they hope to defeat the Gaels.

Keys For The Gaels

Crash The Boards. Last year, when Iona beat Manhattan, the Gaels outrebounded the Jaspers 42-24. In the second meeting, the Gaels lost while being outrebounded 43-29. Rebounding could be the deciding factor in Friday's game.

Take and Make the Three. Iona shoots 37.9 percent from beyond the arc and has multiple players who can be a threat on the perimeter. Although Manhattan's perimeter defense has slowly improved this year, it is not good enough to shut down the Gaels. Kyle Smyth, Jonathan Huffman, Rashon Dwight, and Trinity Fields all shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range. Scott Machado shoots 37.8 percent and Milan Prodanovic, despite being streaky, shoots 36.6 percent from beyond the arc and has the ability to get in a groove.

Keys For The Jaspers

Share The Ball. Against Siena, Manhattan got out to an early 18-10 lead and had five assists in that time. The Jaspers would not get another assist in the first half and would only pick up seven assists in the first 16 minutes of the second half. The Jaspers would go on runs when they would share the ball. They must share the ball against Iona.

Good Looks For Rico. Rico Pickett is now averaging 17 points per game, and over 23 ppg in January. He has shown the ability to take over a game. The Jaspers need to find a way to get good shots for Pickett in order to get him going early on.

Convert Free Throws. The Jaspers converted 21-29 free throws against Canisius and 23-26 against Fairfield. Despite losing both of these games, these free throws kept them in the game. The Jaspers only made 5-9 free throws against Siena and lost by double digits. The Jaspers need to make their free throws, and to do that they need to draw some fouls.

Most likely, Iona's balanced attack and three-point shooting will over power the Jaspers. The Gaels will get out to an early lead. Iona's 20.3 fouls per game will keep the Jaspers within striking distance, if Manhattan can convert their free throws. The only chance for Manhattan to pull out a victory will be if Rico Pickett (16.9 ppg) and Darryl Crawford (14.9 ppg) both have above par performances.

Pick: Iona 73, Manhattan 65

Tip-Off: Friday, January 22, 9 PM @ Draddy Gymnasium

For more on Manhattan and the MAAC, follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter and click here.

Manhattan fans were hopeful as the Jaspers pulled out to an early 18-10 lead, but they knew it was too good to be true.

After jumping out to an early eight-point lead while shooting 8-for-12 from the field, the Jaspers cooled off, and fell down at the half 39-31. As Manhattan announcer Ed Cohen commented on near the end of the game, "The Jaspers were so promising early on, but the question was if they could sustain their effort."

The answer to that question is that they could not.

The Jaspers (7-11, 2-6 MAAC) held a 27-24 lead at the eight-minute TV timeout. Ryan Rossiter inbounded the ball to Clarence Jackson, who knocked down a three, knotting the score at 27. After the offensive foul on Andrew Gabriel of Manhattan, Clarence Jackson assisted a Kyle Downey three-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Jackson knocked another three-pointer. The Saints (15-4, 8-0 MAAC) led 33-27, and they would never trail again.

With 39 seconds left in the first half, Brandon Adams committed a flagrant foul on Ryan Rossiter when he pushed him from behind. The Jaspers got lucky, as Rossiter only converted one of two free throws and Ronald Moore's following three-point attempt rattled out.

The Jaspers remained close at the start of the second half, keeping the lead within eight during the first couple of minutes. Siena began hitting almost all of their shots, while the Jaspers struggled.

With 9:12 remaining, Darryl Crawford committed a flagrant foul on Clarence Jackson. Jackson hit both free throws, and then made a jump shot while getting fouled by Laurence Jolicoeur. Jackson converted the free throws, giving him five points on that single possession.

That put the Jaspers down 18 points. Manhattan would go down as many as 23 points, with the score 81-58 at the four-minute TV timeout.

Manhattan would get a little hot in the final minutes, cutting the lead down to 15. Rico Pickett missed a three as the final seconds ran off the clock, and the Saints won 83-68. This was the Saints 31st consecutive win on their home court, the Times Union Center.

The Saints outscored the Jaspers 24-14 in the paint during the second half. The Saints' second half shooting was brilliant. They made 18 of 30 shots, converting 60 percent.

The Saints had four players score in double digits.

Alex Franklin led Siena with 23 points. Not only did Franklin dominate in the post, but he was also able to drive to the basket from the wings and the top of the keys.

Ryan Rossiter recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds. He has gotten a double-double in each of his last four games.

Kyle Downey scored a career-high 16 points off the bench. Clarence Jackson scored 15 points. Jackson made two of five three-pointers, after making six from beyond the arc against Fairfield. Both of his three-pointers against Manhattan helped the Saints jump out to a lead in the first half.

Ronald Moore had a solid all-around performance with eight points, eight assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Freshman forward O.D. Anosike scored two points and grabbed six rebounds.

The Saints won the rebounding battle 34-29.

Rico Pickett scored a game-high 26 points for the Jaspers on 10-for-19 shooting. Pickett made five three-pointers on nine attempts. Pickett is now averaging 17.8 points per game this year and 23.5 points in January. Pickett also grabbed six rebounds and swiped two steals.

Antoine Pearson scored six points off the bench and picked up three assists. Patrick Bouli scored hit one three-pointer early in the game, but was held scoreless for the final 35 minutes. Bouli added four rebounds and four assists.

Darryl Crawford scored only nine points on poor 3-for-9 shooting. All of his points came in the second half. Crawford added four rebounds and four assists.

Andrew Gabriel showed his ineffectiveness once again. Gabriel did not score, committed four fouls, picked up four turnovers, only had one rebounds, and missed all three of his shots. Rohrssen learned not to play Djibril Coulibaly, and now he has to learn that Gabriel does not add to the offense. 

Kevin Laue scored his second career field goal as he tipped in a missed free throw by Antoine Pearson with 1:13 left in the second half. Laue has now scored five points in his young career.

The Jaspers only shot nine free throws in Monday's contest. In addition to their struggles in getting to the charity stripe, Manhattan was only able to convert five of their free throws. The Saints made 17-of-23 (73.9 percent).

The Saints have now won nine straight games, while the Jaspers have lost three straight.

Siena plays their next game on Thursday, January 21 against the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds (9-9, 2-6 MAAC).

Manhattan returns home to play Iona (13-6, 5-3 MAAC) on Friday, January 22.

The Manhattan Jaspers carry five seniors. All of them entered the program with Barry Rohrssen as freshman—hopefully when they graduate and leave, Rohrssen will leave with them.

On a warm winter afternoon, about 1000 Manhattan fans entered Draddy Gymnasium hoping that they would see their team end some recent woes in conference play against the Canisius Golden Griffins. From the start, there was only disappointment.

Manhattan (7-10, 2-5 MAAC) quickly fell down 12-4, with their first field goal coming nearly four minutes into the game.

Canisius (9-9, 4-3 MAAC) would not let up. Tomas Vazquez-Simmons hit a three-pointer to give the Golden Griffins a 32-10 lead with 8:17 remaining. 

Manhattan kept making small pushes to trim the lead, cutting the lead to as low as 11. Canisius would score the final five points in the half and take a 39-23 lead.

However, the Jaspers would not give up. Manhattan opened the second half on an 22-4 run, taking the lead with the score 45-44. 

Manhattan pushed their lead up to four points on an Andrew Gabriel layup with 3:41 left. Unfortunately for the Jaspers, after taking a 56-52 lead, they would miss their final five shots in regulation.

Tomas Vazquez-Simmons hit two free throws with 27 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 56-56.

Canisius took a timeout following the free throws. The Jaspers assembled around Coach Barry Rohrssen in the timeout. This would be a good time for Rohrssen to draw up a play to get a good shot and cap off a great comeback, right? Too bad.

The Jaspers walked up the court and swung the ball around the arc. With eight seconds left the ball went into the hands of Rico Pickett at the top of the arc. Pickett stepped inside the three-point line and went up for a shot. In the act, he was stripped. Pickett managed to get the ball back and put up a fade away jump shot before the buzzer sounded, but it hit off the rim and bounced out. The game went into overtime with the score at 56-56.

Canisius won the tip to start overtime. On their first possession, Laurence Jolicoeur committed a foul and Elton Frazier hit one of two free throws.

Darryl Crawford hit a layup for the Jaspers, and then Frazier responded with a second chance layup for the Golden Griffins, giving Canisius a one-point lead.

Brandon Adams made one of two free throws with 2:21 left to tie the game, 59-59. A turnover by Greg Logins put the ball in the hands of the Jaspers. With the shot clock winding down, Rico Pickett hit a jumper with his foot on the three-point line to give the Jaspers a 61-59 advantage.

Rico Pickett was called for a foul under the basket with 1:01 left, sending Frank Turner to the foul line. Turner would hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to one point. The Jaspers ran the shot clock down on the ensuing possession. Rico Pickett controlled the ball and air-balled a three-pointer from the right wing. Brandon Adams tried to save the ball, but he stepped out of bounds in the act.

The Jaspers played strong defense on the next possession, but it was not good enough. Julius Coles hit a contested three-pointer with six seconds remaining. 

Barry Rohrssen signaled for a timeout.

The Jaspers spent about three minutes huddled around Rohrssen. Any fan would assume that Rohrssen would be using this time to draw up some sort of play that would give Manhattan a good look to tie or win. 

The Jaspers came out of the timeout with Patrick Bouli, Rico Pickett, Darryl Crawford, Brandon Adams, and Andrew Gabriel.

Where was Antoine Pearson? Patrick Bouli is a defensive specialist and rarely adds anything to the offense. Pearson might be the only player on Manhattan that has the ability to create on his own.

After the two minute mark in regulation, Antoine Pearson did not appear for the Jaspers. Pearson has had limited playing time due to asthma, but it did not appear that there was anything wrong with him. After seven minutes of rest, I would think that Pearson would be able to play for six seconds.

Pearson has always had the ability to create, especially at the end of the game. Pearson has hit three game-winning shots in his career. Pearson has hit two buzzer-beater jump shots against St. Peter's, and a game-winning layup against Morgan State with six seconds left. If this next piece helps my argument for bringing in Pearson at the end of the game, all three of his game-winning shots have come at home.

Back at the ranch...

After all that time spent in the huddle, the Jaspers inbounded to Rico Pickett who dribbled up the court and passed to Darryl Crawford on the right wing with about three seconds remaining. 

Crawford took two dribbles inside the three-point line and threw up a double-teamed shot while leaning in. Crawford's shot hit off the rim and rolled out.

Game over: Canisius 63, Manhattan 61

Manhattan fans cried out in disappointment as they filed towards the exit. It is truly amazing that no "Fire Barry" chants arose from the Manhattan fans throughout this game. 

Julius Coles lead the Golden Griffins with 15 points. Coles also grabbed six rebounds.

Tomas Vazquez-Simmons recorded his first double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Elton Frazier and Frank Turner each scored 12 points. Frazier grabbed eight rebounds and blocked one shot. Turner compiled seven assists, but turned the ball over five times.

Canisius made 5-of-12 three-pointers in the first half, but missed all five of their attempts in the second half. They attempted one three in overtime, and it went in as the game-winner.

Rico Pickett and Darryl Crawford led the Jaspers with 16 points apiece. Pickett shot 7-of-23 from the field. Crawford made 8-of-10 free throws.

Antoine Pearson scored seven points in 21 minutes.

Laurence Jolicoeur scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Brandon Adams scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds. Adams refrained from fouling out for the first time since January 4. 

Manhattan did not hit one three on Saturday, finishing 0-of-12.

Manhattan managed to only turn the ball over seven times.

The Jaspers defense was below par in the first half, although they stepped up a little in the second half. Canisius made 15-of-31 shots in the first half, but only made 4-of-19 in the second half. The Jaspers forced eight steals on the defensive end, forcing 15 turnovers in all.

Canisius won the rebounding battle, 43-38.

Manhattan outscored Canisius 26-24 in the paint and 9-6 on points off turnovers. The Jaspers also managed to outscore Canisius 15-8 on second chance points. There were no fast break points scored for either team and 14-5 on points off the bench.

Canisius plays next on Monday afternoon at Fairfield (12-5, 5-2 MAAC).

Manhattan's next game is Monday night at Siena (14-4, 7-0 MAAC).

Picture from gojaspers.com

For more news on Manhattan follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter by clicking here .

On Friday, Jan. 16, the Canisius Golden Griffins will travel from Western New York to Riverdale to play the Manhattan Jaspers.

This is the first conference rematch for both teams. In the first meeting, at Canisius, Manhattan defeated the Golden Griffins, 71-57. In the first meeting, Manhattan jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led the rest of the way. The Jaspers outscored the Golden Griffins 42-26 in the paint, an area where the Jaspers have had some trouble scoring.

In Buffalo, Rico Pickett scored what was then a career-high 21 points.

The Jaspers need to approach Friday's game in the same manner as they approached the first meeting, while Canisius needs to find a way to stop the Jaspers in the paint and get Frank Turner going early.

Keys for the Golden Griffins

Get Frank Turner Scoring Early

In the first meeting, Turner only scored seven points in the first half, and 13 in the game. He averages 17 points per game this season, and needs to play up to expectations if the Golden Griffins look to win.

Contain Rico Pickett

In the first meeting, Rico Pickett scored 21 points. Pickett has been red hot in the month of January, averaging 24.9 points per game. There have been points where Pickett is automatic. The Golden Griffins need to do everything they can to limit his scoring.

Keys for the Jaspers

Keep Rico Pickett Scoring

Pickett has carried the Jaspers on his back this month. The Jaspers will need the expected contribution from him to get a lead on Canisius. Also, Darryl Crawford scored 19 in the first meeting. The Jaspers will need an average effort from him.

Points in the Paint

The Jaspers dominated in the paint on both offense and defense in the first meeting, outscoring the Golden Griffins 42-26. Andrew Gabriel had a season-high 13 points, 10 of them coming in the paint.

Contain Frank Turner

Turner averages 17 points per game. The Jaspers limited his scoring back in December. Although they held Turner's scoring to a minimal amount, Turner still amounted six assists in the first contest. The Jaspers need to find a way on defense to keep Turner from finding his teammates.

Also, Frank Turner's weakness is turnovers. He averages close to four turnovers per game. The Jasper guards need to be aggressive on defense while guarding him.

My Prediction: Manhattan 79, Canisius 71

Tip-Off: Friday, Jan. 16, 7 PM

For more information on the MAAC, follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter by clicking here.

The Jaspers responded to their two heartbreaking wins with a win over St. Peter's, and almost made Manhattan fans jump with joy as they fell three points short of an upset over the Fairfield Stags in Bridgeport, Conn.

Manhattan (7-9, 2-4 MAAC) lead by 14 points in the first half, before Fairfield (12-3, 5-1 MAAC) got hot from the field and cut the Jasper lead to two points. Intermission came with the Jaspers leading 39-37.

Rico Pickett, who scored a career-high 29 points, hit a 50-foot three-pointer less than a second after the buzzer sounded, and it was waived off.

Fairfield came out strong in the second half and took a 48-43 lead with 16 minutes remaining. The Jaspers kept fighting, but short Fairfield bursts pushed their lead all the way up to 10. The Jaspers would not go away. 

With 6:08 left, Fairfield went back up 74-65, and it looked like the Stags might run away. Rico Pickett got hot once more, as the Jaspers began forcing turnovers again. 

Manhattan went on a 9-3 run to cut the Fairfield lead to three. Rico Pickett's layup with 1:23 left tied the score at 80-80.

With Manhattan trailing 81-80, Andrew Gabriel got two open looks right under the basket—he converted neither. Gabriel remained only a threat to get an occasional steal.

Two free throws for Fairfield gave the Stags an 88-85 lead with 2.7 seconds left. Rico Pickett grabbed an inbounds pass and tried to create a déjá vu on a half-court shot, but this one hit the front of the rim and bounced out, giving Fairfield an 88-85 victory to make the home crowd happy.

Anthony Johnson led Fairfield with 27 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.

Yorel Hawkins added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Derek Needham scored 11 points and five assists, after not hitting a shot for the first 16 minutes.

Sean Crawford scored 10 off the bench for the Stags.

Rico Pickett scored 29 for the Jaspers while grabbing three steals.

Darryl Crawofrd scored 21 points before fouling out in the final minute. Crawford converted 11-of-13 free throws.

Laurence Jolicouer had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Patrick Bouli had an all-around great game with five points, four assists, four rebounds, and four steals.

Kevin Laue scored his first career field goal on a tip-in in the first half. He scored two points and grabbed one rebound.

The Jaspers picked up 17 steals and forced a total of 26 turnovers. Once again, Manhattan had trouble defending the perimeter as Fairfield shot 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Jaspers reversed some of their misfortune from the charity stripe on Sunday, converting 23-of-26 free throws.

Fairfield stays at home to face the Siena Saints (12-4, 5-0 MAAC) on Friday.

Manhattan returns to Draddy Gymnasium to battle Canisius (8-8, 3-2 MAAC) on Friday, Jan. 16.

Picture credit to gojaspers.com

For more information on Manhattan, follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter by clicking here.

Entering Friday, the Manhattan Jaspers had just lost two heartbreakers, giving Marist their first win of the season and then blowing a 16-point lead against Rider, ending with a Mike Ringgold tip-in to give the Broncs a 65-64 win.

The Jaspers desperately needed to win—and they prevailed.

Manhattan (7-8, 2-3 MAAC) started off with a bang, similar to their start versus Rider. The Jaspers quickly went ahead 10-5, and stretched their lead to as high as 16, before the half concluded with the score at 40-26, in favor of the Jaspers. Manhattan would go on to win 76-53. St. Peter's never led after they held a two point lead 1:14 into the game.

Jasper fans awaited the downfall of the dominating Manhattan lead, but it only fell as low as six points when the score was 26-20 with 8:29 left in the first half.

St. Peter's (7-8, 2-3 MAAC) had no response for the Jaspers' Brandon Adams (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) in the post, and Rico Pickett (19 points) and Darryl Crawford (15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) on the perimeter.

The Jaspers had 18 points off the bench—10 points from Antoine Pearson, and 8 points from freshman guard George Beamon.

Nick Leon led the Peacocks with 12 points. Steven Samuels and Wesley Jenkins added 10 each, with Jenkins contributing 4 assists.

The main factor for Manhattan was that they consistently worked for good shots, and converted them. The Jaspers made 30 of their 50 attempts from the field, for a whopping 60 percent. The Jaspers also made 7-of-13 three-pointers, while converting 9-of-13 free throws.

St. Peter's returns home to face the Niagara Purple Eagles on Monday, Jan. 11.

The Jaspers picked up the must-win victory at home on Friday night, and travel to Connecticut to face the Fairfield Stags on Sunday, Jan. 10.

Picture from gojaspers.com

For more news on the Manhattan Jaspers, follow Jesse Kramer On Twitter.

With five players, all of them guards, graduating after this season, Manhattan is in need of some good recruits in order to be a contender in the MAAC next season. 

Barry Rohrssen brought in junior college transfer Rico Pickett, who will be a senior with the Jaspers next year, and George Beamon from Roslyn, now a freshman, for the current season.

Pickett has already shown his ability to be dangerous all over the floor. Beamon has shown that he has the potential to be a star for the Jaspers, but currently cannot do too much.

Rohrssen, now in his fourth year with the Jaspers, has brought in mainly guards as his recruits. The big men that he brought the Riverdale were Laurence Jolicoeur, Andrew Gabriel, Kevin Laue, Herve Banogle, and Shagari Alleyne, a transfer from Kentucky.

Some of these players were supposed to be much better then they turned out to be.

Andrew Gabriel played in Jordan Classic Regional Game, but has been a bust with the occasional big game.

Herve Banogle was recruited by Connecticut and gave Manhattan fans high hopes, but he had hands of stone and could not handle the ball in the post.

Shagari Alleyne was supposed to dominate the MAAC with his 7'3" figure when named eligible, but that never happened as he failed out of school. 

This year, Rohrssen has no big men on his list, but he has already received commitments from Mike Alvarado of All Hallows High School and Kidani Brutus, a junior college transfer from Oklahoma.

Mike Alvarado is the star of All Hallows this year, and Rohrssen looks forward to having him join the squad next season. Alvarado has the ability to drive to the hoop, something that Manhattan has been lacking as of recently.

Kidani Brutus averaged 14.5 points his senior year of high school and 17.3 in his junior year. He is rated a two-star recruit on scout.com. Brutus is averaging 11.9 points per game over two years at Carl Albert State Junior College.

Now, Rohrssen's next target is Bishop Loughlin guard Branden Frazier (not to be confused with the actor). He is 6'2" and weighs only 155 lbs.

Frazier is classified as wing shooting guard. Scout.com rates him a two-star recruit. Scout says his strengths are his catch and shoot ability and he is a tough competitor. He is not a great ball-handler and his lack of strength makes it tough for him to get to the basket at times. He has a sweet stroke from beyond the arc and is able to create shots for himself when needed. 

On ESPN, Frazier is graded as an 84. ESPN says that Frazier likes to shoot three-pointers in transition, and hits all of his open looks. 

Frazier is interested in other Northeast schools, such as Saint John's, Saint Peter's, Rutgers, Fordham, Siena, and George Mason. He has not specified which school he is interested in most.

The Jaspers could use a player like Frazier to help them stay strong with the graduation of some of their key players.

Follow Jesse Kramer On Twitter .