New York, NY (December 20, 2003)- Junior Peter Mulligan scored 13 of his season-high 17 points in the second half as Manhattan defeated Richmond, 70-62, today at Madison Square Garden in the nightcap of the Dreyfus Classic. Mulligan added a season-high 11 rebounds to record the Jaspers' first double-double of the season, as Manhattan improves to 4-2 this season and 9-1 at MSG under Bobby Gonzalez.
The Spiders (5-4) jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead before the Jaspers used an 18-6 run to take a 22-15 lead with 6:46 left in the first half. Manhattan would extend the lead to as many as nine, 32-23, with 1:25 left before the break on a Mulligan layup, and went into halftime with a 34-27 lead.
In the second half, Manhattan stretched its lead to 11 points (52-41) on a Jason Benton free throw with 11:02 remaining before Richmond used a 13-2 run, capped by three Mike Skrocki free throws, to tie the score at 56-56 with 3:30 left. But the Jaspers responded with a 13-2 run of their own over the next three minutes to extend the lead back to 11 (69-58) and went on to the 70-62 victory.
Luis Flores scored a game-high 25 points and Benton added 10 points, joining Mulligan in double-figures. Richmond was led by Tony Dobbins, who tallied 15 points. Skrocki added 10 in the first ever meeting between Manhattan and Richmond.
The Jaspers return to action on Sunday, December 28, when they take on Holy Cross in the first round of the Dreyfus Holiday Festival. Manhattan looks to become only the second team in Holiday Festival history to win three straight championships.