UPS should have advertised during the Manhattan-St. Peter’s game because the prevailing theme for the Jaspers was “what can Brown do for you?”
Rhamel Brown that is.
With Knicks star J.R. Smith watching courtside, the junior forward helped the Jaspers overcome a dismal shooting day and still come away with a 57-49 win over St. Peter’s at Draddy Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve been around a lot of good big guys, but what he is doing is special,” Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said. “He’s one of the best big men in the nation, bar none, any level. He’s a high, high caliber big man, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Brown finished with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high tying seven blocks in the crucial MAAC win.
Manhattan (7-15, 5-7 MAAC) needed all of Brown’s abilities to outlast the Peacocks. After Brown converted a 3-point play to give the Jaspers a 51-44 lead with 1:52 remaining, St. Peter’s guard Desi Washington came down the court and drilled a trey to cut it to just four points.
Which is where the next biggest advantage for the Jaspers came into play. Manhattan attempted 36 free throws, making 30 of them as opposed to St. Peter’s which made just seven of its nine free-throw attempts. Michael Alvarado, Donovan Kates and Brown combined to go 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in the game’s final two minutes.
“You know what I think of how you’re playing if you’re on the court in the last two or three minutes of the game,” Masiello said.
Masiello’s club played sloppily for the majority of the first half, committing 10 turnovers and would have had another had Kates not been bailed out by a blocking call in the waning seconds of the first half that negated what would have been a shot clock violation. Kates hit one of two free throws to keep the game within four at 24-20.
“Tonight wasn’t a pretty first half, but I thought our kids showed great resiliency,” Masiello said. “I think they were physical with us, I don’t think we adjusted well early on. As the game went on we adjusted. [Our players] were very, very tough minded and I thought they competed at a very high level for a hard-fought win.”
Luckily, Manhattan’s defense and low post play kept the game close. The Jaspers’ defense held the Peacocks (7-15, 2-10 MAAC) to under 35 percent shooting, including a paltry 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Manhattan also outrebounded St. Peter’s 36-33.
“When you struggle scoring in games like we have and you depend on your defense in a win like this and hold them to under 57, it’s attributed to these young men,” Masiello said. “Look at all of the little things we did. They understood that St. Peter’s said ‘we’re going to come in and guard you tonight,’ so our guys did all of the other things.”
The win is a big one for the Jaspers, who had just lost in heartbreaking fashion two nights earlier. After overcoming a 13-point deficit, Manhattan lost to Siena 66-63, making yesterday’s game a must win as conference play enters its final stages.
“Every game is a must win,” Masiello said. “We wanted to win. If we can finish these five of seven at home, playing well, get some momentum going into the MAAC tournament, I think anything can happen.”
asulla-heffinger@nypost.com