College Basketball

Injury-riddled Manhattan tops Marist

The deck was stacked against Manhattan College.

Leading scorer George Beamon wasn’t in the lineup, missing Sunday’s contest with Marist after suffering a sprained right shoulder. Its best big man, Rhamel Brown, was limited with an undisclosed injury. And a 12-point lead was suddenly a nine-point deficit, and just 5:21 was left on the clock.

And once again, the Jaspers demonstrated why they are considered one of the country’s elite mid-major programs and could snap the Riverdale school’s 10-year NCAA Tournament drought this March with an 86-79 victory over Marist at Draddy Gymnasium.

“I’ve said it many times,” Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said. “Adversity reveals who you are.”

Led by the brilliant play of point guard Michael Alvarado, Manhattan (12-3, 5-1) rallied to force overtime.

“This team showed what they are all about today,” Masiello said after Manhattan bounced back from Thursday’s loss at Quinnipiac to remain atop the MAAC, tied with Iona and Canisius. “When you can survive when you’re supposed to go down, you’re going to live a long time.”

Alvarado, the Bronx product and former All Hallows star, scored a career-high 33 points, added four assists and didn’t have a turnover.

“That’s just phenomenal,” Masiello raved.

Alvarado had nine points in the extra session and made 13-of-17 shots, all on drives into the paint.

“I was just trying to turn the corner, I was trying to be in attack mode every single possession I got,” he said.

Alvarado said he wasn’t looking to replace the 20.1 points per game Beamon averages, but he ended up filling the void nicely, slashing past Marist defenders and finding creative ways to score in the paint over bigger defenders.

“He does this every game — he’s 6-foot-2, 6-foot-2¹/₂ , 180 pounds of all muscle. When he gets going, he’s very hard to stop,” Masiello said. “When he gets into the lane, on attack mode like this, he’s unguardable.”

Chavaughn Lewis of Queens led Marist (5-11, 2-4) with 25 points and Khallid Hart had 24.

Freshman Richard Williams was Robin to Alvarado’s Batman, scoring 13 points, many at opportune times. He pulled Manhattan even at 73 with a steal and dunk with 1:16 left and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime, before Alvarado closed with three layups and three free throws.

“Brooklyn kids aren’t afraid of much, and Rich Williams showed that,” Masiello said. “Rich Williams thinks he’s played here 10 years, the way he acts. He’s not afraid of the moment. He thrives in it.”