Less than a minute remained when Manhattan guard Patrick Bouli found his favorite spot on the wing in anticipation of a kick-out pass from Darryl Crawford, who had run into traffic on his way to the basket.
Crawford had collected 24 points already and Rider’s defense wasn’t going to let him near the hoop this time, not with the score tied at 68-68 and the third-seed in the MAAC tournament on the line.
Crawford saw Bouli and gladly whipped the ball to him. Bouli calmly sank his third 3-pointer of the game – just his third shot of any kind – and gave the Jaspers a 71-68 lead with 49 seconds left in one of the most thrilling games in the MAAC this season, which Manhattan won, 73-68.
The 1,828 fans on hand for senior day at Draddy Gym in Riverdale rose to their feet in jubilation after Bouli’s shot. But plenty of time remained for Rider’s sharpshooters.
Justin Robinson (18 points) and Ryan Thompson (16 points) had spent much of the afternoon shooting the visitors back into the contest despite the Jaspers’ early edge in rebounding and hustle plays, which gave the hosts a 35-29 lead at halftime and a 40-31 lead early in the second.
Rider’s willful offensive rebounding on the ensuing possession gave Robinson and Thompson multiple tries to tie the game from beyond the arc. Thompson’s final desperation 3-point attempt fell short and into the arms of Crawford, who was fouled with 4.3 seconds separating the Jaspers from their biggest victory of the season.
Crawford made both free throws to give himself 26 points and his team a victory that pulled the Jaspers (15-11, 9-7 MAAC) to within a half-game of Rider (14-11, 9-6) for the third seed in next month’s MAAC tournament.
“We’re really hungry right now,” Crawford said. “We’re pushing for that three spot.”
The intensity on both sides was evident, but the Jaspers were the team hitting the deck more frequently for loose balls. Senior Devon Austin was sidelined with an injury, but sophomore Laurence Jolicoeur played 21 minutes and scored 11 points.
Chris Smith, the Jaspers’ leading scorer, struggled with his shot but collected 12 points and 11 rebounds, and teamed with Jolicoeur to score 10 straight Jaspers points midway through the second half to keep the seesaw contest close while Robinson and Thompson (6-11 on 3-point field goals combined) fired away from downtown.
“When a team shoots as many threes as Rider does, you’ve got to come up with some rebounds,” Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen said. “We asked our guards to rebound.”
Manhattan’s three starting guards – Crawford, Smith and Bouli – hauled in 21 rebounds, a key in helping Manhattan bounce back from a 93-69 loss at Siena and keeping the third seed within reach.
“It’s in our hands to get that,” Rohrssen said.
Rider has three MAAC games left and Manhattan has two.
“We battled back,” Rider coach Tommy Dempsey said. “We just didn’t do a good job closing the game.”
dtomasino@nypost.com