Riverdale, NY (February 24, 2004)- Manhattan honored seniors
Peter Mulligan and
Justin Gatling before the game, and went on to defeat Canisius, 85-62, tonight at Draddy Gym. The win moved the Jaspers into a fourth place tie with Saint Peter's with one game left in the regular season. Mulligan poured in a game-high 23 points to pace Manhattan, which improved to 14-12 overall and 9-8 in MAAC play. The win was the Jaspers' fourth straight MAAC win.
Canisius scored the game's first five points and led, 11-10, with 15:39 left before a Mulligan three pointer sparked an 18-6 run, giving the Jaspers a 28-17 lead with 10:48 left in the half. After two Golden Griff baskets cut the lead to seven, Manhattan embarked on a 19-7 run to open up a 19 point lead, 47-28, with 3:12 left before the break, and the Jaspers went into the locker room with a 49-31 lead.
Freshman
CJ Anderson tallied 12 of his 19 points and 10 of his game-high 14 rebounds in the first half, tallying his eighth double-double of the year.
In the second half, Manhattan led by as many as 28 and never allowed the lead to dip below 13 points.
Mulligan added six rebounds, a season-high tying five assists, and two blocks to his game-high 23 points, while Anderson added five assists, three blocks, and two steals to his double-double. Freshmen
Jeff Xavier (11 points, three assists, three steals) and
Arturo Dubois (10 points, four boards, two blocks) joined the duo in double-figures.
Manhattan tallied 23 assists, a season-high 10 blocks, and eight steals while only committing nine turnovers.
Manhattan closes out the regular season on Sunday, February 27, when the Jaspers travel to Jersey City, NJ to take on Saint Peter's in a game slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. If Manhattan wins the game, which will be televised on MSG, the Jaspers will clinch at least the #4 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament.
