Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Antoine Pearson went off for a career-high 24 points and Nick Walsh also had a career day with 16 points, but it was William & Mary (2-2) that came up on top earning a 75-70 victory over Manhattan (1-2) on Saturday in Riverdale. Jaspers' junior center Laurence Jolicoeur finished with eight points and a tied a personal best with 10 rebounds. William & Mary seniors Danny Sumner (17), David Schneider (16) and sophomore Quinn McDowell (14) each scored double-figures in the Tribes' second straight win.
"The effort was there," stated Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen. "Our guys really fought and played hard. We put ourselves in a difficult situation sometimes defensively, and not getting key stops when we need them. Antoine stepped his game up and did things to help the team. Nick provided us with a spark off the bench."
The lead changed sides six times in the first half, but not once in the second. Manhattan and William & Mary were locked 32-32 at intermission as the squads dueled from beyond the arc. Pearson and Walsh each had three 3-pointers in the opening half as the Jaspers shot 50% (7-14) from downtown. The Tribe was also efficient from 3-point range knocking down 42.9% (6-14) of its long balls.
Sumner's shots began to drop in the second as he scored 12 of his 17 points in the stanza. He hit a trey just 25 seconds in to break the halftime tie. Manhattan's Darryl Crawford also found his shooting touch, after going 0-for-6 in the first half, and responded with back-to-back jumpers. With the buckets, the Jaspers found themselves locked at 36-36. Crawford, a senior from New York City, was honored in a pregame ceremony for becoming the 31st player to join the program's 1,000-point club.
William & Mary strung together three unanswered trifectas over the next 2:32 for a 9-0 run to take a 45-36 lead. Sumner was responsible for two of the 3-pointers.
The Tribe led by as many as 10 points in the second half before the Jaspers engineered its comeback bid. Ignited by a double technical on Crawford, which forced the senior guard to leave the game at 6:12, Manhattan surged back to eventually cut William & Mary's lead to 65-63 on Jolicoeur's lay up in transition. The Jaspers defense swarmed William & Mary to regain possession twice in the last three minutes with it a two point game, but Manhattan came up empty both times down court.
William & Mary broke the Jaspers' press after Pearson's missed jumper and McDowell got a layup to extend its lead to four. The Tribe converted free-throws in the last minute to hold off the Jaspers.
Pearson's hot shooting (7-for-12) led the way for Manhattan which went 40.4% from the field and 44% from 3-point territory. The senior from the Bronx was 5-for-8 from downtown to mark the most 3-pointers by a Jasper since he sank six in victory over Siena at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 18, 2008. Walsh finished with four 3-pointers in 29 minutes off the bench.
Six players accounted for the Jaspers total scoring. Patrick Bouli and Crawford each contributed nine points and Andrew Gabriel had four.
Manhattan is back at Draddy Gymnasium on Monday when Mike Jarvis's Florida Atlantic team comes to Riverdale. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
