Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Antoine Pearson backed up his career scoring performance with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 73-66 victory over Florida Atlantic (2-2) on Monday at Draddy Gymnasium. Fellow Jasper seniors Darryl Crawford (12) , Patrick Bouli (12) and Brandon Adams (10) each scored in double-figures to help Manhattan (2-2) to its second home win of the year.
"This obviously was a nice win for us," stated fourth year Jaspers' head coach Barry Rohrssen. "It's important for the seniors to take on a leadership role. We got some big contributions tonight."
Manhattan started rolling early and did not trail in the contest. Bouli capped an initial 9-0 run with a 3-pointer and then a mid range jumper, both coming in front of the Owls' bench. Bouli had nine points in the first half to lead the Jaspers into the break with a 30-23 advantage. The Cameroon native finished near perfect shooting 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point territory.
The Jaspers defense forced11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Manhattan limited the Owls to just 25.8% (8-31) shooting from the field and 27.3% (3-11) from downtown in the first half.
Manhattan built its advantage to double-figures in the second half to lead by as many as 12 points by the 11:40 mark on a Crawford to Djibril Coulibaly alley-oop. Adams added all of his 10 points in the second half was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
"As seniors we are trying to be vocal in the lockeroom, trying to push everybody," stated Adams. "It's our last year, our last shot. We are really trying to win some games, so we are trying to bring the intensity on and off the court."
Owls' freshman guard Raymond Taylor sparked Florida Atlantic's second half rally scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the stanza. He drained three 3-pointers, dished out four assists and made four steals in the contest. Taylor's biggest shot of the second half came with 6:19 remaining when he buried a trey to cut the Jaspers' advantage to 55-52.
"One of our concerns as a staff was the amount of points this team can run up. They really have a dynamic point guard in Raymond Taylor."
Florida Atlantic's defensive stop the next time down floor put the ball back in Taylor's hands with it a one possession game. Pearson responded with a defensive stop for Manhattan by swiping the ball from Taylor and taking it in for an uncontested lay up. Pearson's bucket sparked a 12-4 run which gave the Jaspers' enough cushion to cruise to the finish.
Pearson (10-11) and Adams (6-6) anchored the Jaspers' superb free-throw shooting effort. Manhattan was 74.2% (23-31) from the line. The Jaspers were more conservative from 3-point range (4-8) after shooting 11-for-25 from downtown their last time out against William & Mary.
Laurence Jolicoeur and Nick Walsh were also bright spots for the Jaspers. Jolicoeur scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Walsh, a 5'10" guard from Riverdale, recorded four points and set a career-high with five rebounds.
Manhattan plays its fourth game in seven days on Wednesday when the squad visits American University, a 2009 NCAA Tournament participant. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
