MAAC Basketball Championship Spotlights: Manhattan Jaspers
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – With the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships quickly approaching, the league will begin to spotlight each of its 11 member institutions’ men’s and women’s programs leading up to championship week. Today’s school scheduled to be featured is Manhattan College.
Manhattan Men’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 18):
The defending MAAC Champions were picked to finish third in the preseason poll, and are currently fourth in the standings with a 10-6 league mark. Overall, the Jaspers own a 13-12 record through 25 games, including an 8-2 home mark. The Jaspers swept third-ranked Monmouth in the season series between the two teams, while dropping both meetings to second-ranked Rider in overtime.
Player to Watch: Emmy Andujar
Senior Emmy Andujar has been a jack-of-all-trades for Manhattan, as the forward leads the Jaspers in 14 statistical categories including scoring (16.5 points per game), rebounds (7.1 rebounds per game) and steals (2.1 steals per game), and is tied with teammate Tyler Wilson with 3.3 assists per game. One of the top offensive threats in the MAAC, Andujar has scored at least 20 points in eight of Manhattan’s last 12 contests.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 18): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 18):
Manhattan defeated Fordham, 71-57, before a crowd of 6,519 that included former New York City mayor and alum Rudy Giuliani to win the Battle of the Bronx at the Barclays Center on Dec. 22. Trailing 16-4 with 13:44 to play in the first half, the Jaspers outscored the Rams 48-14 over the next 21-plus minutes to turn a 12-point deficit into a 52-30 lead with 12:15 remaining in the game. Fordham was able to get within single digits at nine points with 1:33 to play, but the Jaspers closed out the game going 9-for-10 from the line to close out the victory. Emmy Andujar (14), recipient of the Mike Cohen MVP Award, Ashton Pankey (12) and Shane Richards (12) all hit for double-figures to pace a balanced offensive attack that saw nine of the 10 Jasper players score.
Manhattan Women’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 18):
Manhattan was picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll and are currently 11th in the standings with a 1-14 league mark, while posting a 2-22 overall record. The Jaspers secured their lone nonconference win against Holy Cross on Nov. 16 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and later topped Rider in MAAC play on Jan. 4. Both wins marked come-from-behind efforts, as the Jaspers trailed the Crusaders 32-24 at halftime, and were also facing a 12-point deficit against the Broncs.
Player to Watch: Shayna Ericksen
Junior Shayna Ericksen leads the Jaspers in scoring during the 2014-15 campaign, averaging 9.2 points per game, while also hauling down a team-best 6.5 boards per contest. Ericksen has posted 12 double-figure scoring games, including two 20-point games. In the Jaspers’ 66-60 win over Holy Cross, the forward notched a double-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds. She was particularly efficient on the offensive end, netting her 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 18): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 18):
The Jaspers rallied back from a 12-point halftime deficit to post a 55-52 victory over Rider and snap a 10-game losing streak on Jan. 4. The Broncs led 31-19 at the break, but Manhattan started the second half on an 11-0 rally to pull within one. The contest would be a back-and-forth affair, with scoring spurts by both sides. Ultimately, a pair of Nyasha Irizarry free throws gave the Jaspers a 53-49 lead with 17 seconds left, which the hosts held on to for the win. Irizarry went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe and finished with a game-high 15 points.
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The next spotlight, set to be released on Thursday, Feb. 19, will feature the Marist Red Foxes men’s and women’s programs.
The 2015 season culminates at the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, March 5-9. Tickets for the championships are available online at ticketmaster.com.
For the full men’s basketball schedule, visits maacsports.com and remember to follow the conversation on twitter using #MAACHoops and #MAACHoops15.