SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Manhattan needed nine years to get back to the MAAC Championship. Now, the Jaspers are one win away from reaching the title game for a second straight season.
With No. 2 Manhattan locked in a tug-of-war with No. 7 St. Peter’s for much of Saturday night’s MAAC Tournament quarterfinal, two Jaspers seniors — Rhamel Brown and Michael Alvarado — refused to accept the possibility of an early exit and carried the team to a 72-58 win at the MassMutual Center.
Brown and Alvarado were the team’s only players to score in double-figures, with the former recording his first double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) in more than three months and the latter returning from an ankle injury to will his way to the line (17 points, 13-of-16 free throws) and help the Jaspers (23-7, 16-5) win for the ninth time in 10 games and end St. Peter’s (14-17, 9-12) five-game winning streak.
Manhattan will face No. 3 Quinnipiac in the second semifinal on Sunday, following the Bobcats’ battle back from an early 10-point deficit to defeat No. 11 Niagara, 89-80, in Saturday’s nightcap. Quinnipiac is the only school in the MAAC the Jaspers haven’t beat this season.
“I thought our experience kicked in,” Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said. “Really, the difference in the game came down to us having two seniors who have been through this. … Rhamel Brown just wasn’t going home tonight, [neither] was Mike Alvarado.”
The Peacocks had put an official upset scare into the Jasper-dominated crowd early in the second half, taking a 39-34 lead with 17:12 left, after an 8-0 run, capped by a Marvin Dominique three-point play. Manhattan’s veteran group immediately responded with a 7-0 run and never trailed again, stretching the lead with a physical attack that earned them 22 more free throw attempts.
With leading-scorer George Beamon struggling (1-of-8 shooting), Brown, the three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, exerted his power against overmatched Peacock post defenders, registering double-digit points for the first time in four games.
“I just think we stayed together,” Brown said. “We’ve been in that situation many times and we know all we have to do is stay together and play defense and we’ll be fine and that’s what we did.”
The top-two defensive teams in the league displayed everything that was expected early, as basketball quickly devolved into a rock fight. Scoring was scarce and play was sloppy, with the teams combining for 14 assists and 34 turnovers.
St. Peter’s had successfully slowed Manhattan, as Dominique chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, but the Jaspers still managed a 32-31 lead after a subpar first half. In the second half, the seniors shook the shackles off.
“I thought we came out a little tight,” Masiello said. “I thought we found ourselves in the second half. We started being aggressive and going after people. This win is about having great seniors that I think are as good as any in the country.”