Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - Manhattan could not hold on to a nine point advantage as the Jaspers surrendered a 75-72 decision to Penn (4-4) at the Palestra on Tuesday. Junior guard George Beamon led Manhattan (3-4) with 16 points coming off the bench. Jaspers' seniors Kidani Brutus and Liam McCabe-Moran chipped in 13 points apiece. Penn had five players post double-figures in scoring, including a game-high 20 points from senior guard Zack Rosen who shot 7-for-12 and had five assists.
After getting off to a slow offensive start, Manhattan turned up the tempo midway through the first half. The Jaspers used a 16-4 run over a five minute span to counter back-to-back 3-pointers by the Quakers and erase a five point deficit. Brutus had eight of the 16 points during the run with two 3s, and then he assisted McCabe-Moran's 3-pointer to cap the surge at 4:39 giving Manhattan a 28-21 advantage. Brutus extended Manhattan's lead to 39-30 with his third 3-pointer of the first half at the 1:03 mark, its largest lead of the contest.
The Jaspers shot 11-for-15 (73.3%) from the field in the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza to enter the break with a 39-34 advantage. Manhattan's bench anchored the offensive production scoring 30 of the 39 points in the first half. Brutus had all 13 of his points at intermission.
Manhattan led by as many as six points in the opening four minutes of the second half, but Penn would not go away. The Quakers made a six point rally with sophomore forward Marin Kukoc's 3-pointer, then a three point play from Rosen at 14:32 to start the momentum swing and lock the game at 44-44. Over the next 10 minutes, the game featured five more ties and seven lead changes. The Quakers made their final push at the 4:03 mark when sophomore guard Miles Cartwright finished off a three point play to break a 61-61 tie giving Penn a lead it would not relinquish.
Cartwright and senior guard Tyler Bernardini combined for 14 of the Quakers last 16 points of the game. Bernardini knocked down a decisive 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining to send Penn ahead 71-67. Manhattan would come up empty in its next trip down court. Out of a timeout, the Jaspers missed three shot attempts as Cartwright then sealed the game with a pair of free-throws.
Cartwright had 14 points, Bernardini had 12 off the bench and Kukoc shot 3-for-3 beyond the arc finishing with 11 points in a reserve role. Penn capitalized at the charity stripe hitting 9-of-12 free-throws in the final five minutes, while also grabbing five big offensive rebounds during the stretch.
Jaspers' sophomore Rhamel Brown scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots in 22 minutes off the bench. Freshman Emmy Andujar posted seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Roberto Colonette pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with five points, and Michael Alvarado registered five points and four assists. McCabe-Moran's 13 points marked a career-high.
Manhattan opens Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Friday when the Jaspers travel to Rider. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Alumni Gym.
