The MAAC front-runner will be back to full strength Friday night, and just in time as Manhattan begins to face the league’s other contenders in the coming weeks.
George Beamon, the senior wing who leads the Jaspers in points and rebounds, will start against Rider in Riverdale after missing the last three games with a mild sprained right shoulder, Steve Masiello told The Post.
“I’m throwing a birthday party for myself and it’s not even my birthday,” the third-year coach joked. “I’m excited to have him back. What coach wouldn’t want to have his best player back?
“We’re a much better team with George Beamon. He’s a guy who definitely makes things run easier for us when he’s in the lineup. He’s practiced the last three days, and he’s looked pretty darn good.”
Manhattan (13-4, 6-2), tied atop the MAAC with Iona and Canisius, struggled without Beamon. The Jaspers fell to Quinnipiac after Beamon left the contest in the first half never to return, needed a late rally to knock off Marist, then after beating Siena, lost to cellar-dwelling Fairfield. Senior forward Rhamel Brown, one of the nation’s top shot-blockers, has also been battling a nagging ankle injury.
With Beamon, they are 11-2, and have wins over LaSalle, Buffalo and South Carolina. A scoring machine from Long Island, he was averaging 20.1 points — 28th-best in the country — and 6.1 rebounds before going down.
“George helps us big-time,” guard RaShawn Stores said. “He brings scoring, he brings energy.”
In his absence, however, Masiello saw bright spots. Senior point guard Mike Alvarado emerged, averaging nearly 25 points per game, and freshman wing Richard Williams became a factor.
Of course, Masiello is thrilled to have Beamon back. After Friday night’s matchup with Rider, Manhattan will look for revenge Sunday against Quinnipiac. Next Friday, the Jaspers will visit rival Iona in a rematch of last year’s MAAC title game, won by the Gaels.
During summer workouts, Masiello kept the final score of that game — 60-57 — on the scoreboard as a reminder of the heartbreaking loss.
“It’s a big motivation for us,” Stores said. “l think about that game all the time.”
Manhattan is hopeful it can get back to the MAAC’s final game and this time be the team celebrating at the final buzzer. With Beamon back in the lineup, the Jaspers once again resemble the team that was ranked among the nation’s top mid-major programs before their star went down.
“When this team’s healthy, I think we can play with a lot of people,” Masiello said. “We’re deep, we’re athletic, we can shoot it, we defend. I think this is a dangerous team when we’re healthy.”