Riverdale, NY (January 23, 2004)- Manhattan outscored Loyola 60-23 in the first half on its way to a 96-63 MAAC win over Loyola tonight at Draddy Gym. Junior Peter Mulligan led all scorers with a Manhattan career-high 28 points in just 23 minutes. The Jaspers improve to 13-3 overall and a perfect 8-0 in MAAC play, Manhattan's best ever start in conference games.
After the Greyhound's Charlie Bell opened up the scoring with a jumper, Manhattan tallied 19 straight points, with Mike Konovelchick contributing eight with two three's and a dunk, to take a 19-2 lead 3:50 seconds into the game. The Jaspers' pressure forced 17 first half turnovers by Loyola (0-17, 0-8), and Manhattan tallied 12 steals and four blocks on the way to a 60-23 halftime lead.
Manhattan, who played all 12 players on its roster in the first half, continued to play its reserves in the second half, as all 12 Jaspers played at least eight minutes and scored at least one point. The Jaspers posted their largest lead of the night, 41 points, after a Mulligan layup made the score 82-41 with 10:41 left in the game.
Luis Flores joined Mulligan in double figures with 15 points in 15 minutes of action. Freshman Guy Ngarndi nearly tallied a double-double, posting career-highs with 12 points and nine boards, while junior Justin Gatling led all Jaspers with a career-high 25 minutes, registering eight points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Manhattan travels to New Rochelle,NY on Sunday to take on MAAC foe Iona at 4:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised on the Madison Square Garden Network as part of the MAAC TV package.