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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After playing eight of its first nine games away from home, Manhattan (2-7) will host Morgan State at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
TOP STORYLINES
#1 - Junior Ashton Pankey recorded his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 caroms at Pitt while senior Emmy Andujar scored 19 points.
#2 - The duo of Andujar and Pankey are averaging 29.6 points and 17.1 rebounds per game during the month of December while shooting 61.3 percent (46-for-75) from the floor.
#3 - Manhattan is 1-1, all-time, against Morgan State and 4-2, all-time, against MEAC schools.
QUICK HITS
* The teams last met on Dec. 12, 2009 with the Bears besting the Jaspers by an 83-74 count. In defeat, Darryl Crawford paced Manhattan with 24 points.
* On Wednesday, the Jaspers dropped a hard-fought 65-56 decision at Pitt after falling to Rutgers 63-55 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
* Manhattan won its lone home game of the season by a 60-38 score against Marist on Dec. 7.
* The Jaspers have claimed five-straight and 10-of-11 at Draddy Gymnasium dating back to last season.
* Head coach Steve Masiello is 26-11 at home since taking over as head coach before the 2011-2012 season.
* The teams will be playing in Riverdale for the first time since Manhattan edged Morgan State 61-60 on Nov. 19. 2008 on Antoine Pearson's reverse layup with nine seconds to play.
* The Bears enter Saturday's tilt with a 2-9 record with both wins coming by just one point.
* Todd Bozeman is in his ninth year at the helm of Morgan State and previously coached Jason Kidd at Cal during the 1990s.
* Leading the way for the Bears is the duo of Blake Bozeman (13.1 ppg) and Cedric Blossom (13.0 ppg).
* Manhattan is playing eight of its nine non-conference games either on the road or in neutral venues while six of the aforementioned nine non-league games will be against teams from the Atlantic 10 (3), ACC (2) and Big Ten (1).
* Five of the Jaspers' first six games and six of their nine non-conference games will appear on the ESPN family of networks. All told, Manhattan currently has six games slated for ESPN3 and one each for ESPN2 and ESPNU.
* Manhattan has played in eight different venues this season and will play in 11 different locations over their first 13 games.
* After scoring just two points in the first half at Pitt, Andujar had another big second half in scoring 17 of the Jaspers' 39 points. After halftime this season, Andujar is averaging a team-leading 8.4 points per game. Additionally, over his last four games he is averaging 11.8 points each time out on 70.8 percent (17-for-24) shooting.
* Andujar, who notched his fourth career 20-plus point game with 21 against Rutgers, has paced Manhattan in scoring in each of his last three games and is averaging a team-best 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds during that time.
* On the year, Andujar among the MAAC leaders in scoring (13.2 ppg-12th), rebounding (7.8 rpg -5th ), assists (2.8-11th), steals (1.8-6th), offensive rebounds (3.0-1st), defensive rebounds (4.8-9th) and field goal percentage (.522-4th).
* Thanks to Andujar's most recent 19-point outing, he is has 941 career markers and is just 59 short of becoming the 36th member of the Manhattan 1,000-point club. He also has 281 career assists and with five more helpers will match Carey Wilson for 10th place for all-time Jasper assist list.
* Pankey, who along with Andujar has been a stabilizing force this season in the frontcourt, is averaging 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds this month and has notched double figures in scoring in three of his last four games.
* This season, Pankey ranks among the league leaders in scoring (11.0 ppg-17th), rebounding (6.1-11th), blocks (0.8-13th) and field goal percentage (.536-3rd).
* Over the last four games, Andujar and Pankey have combined for 52.4 percent (29.5 ppg) of Manhattan's scoring and 54.0 percent (17.0 rpg) of its rebounding while shooting 61.3 percent (46-for-75) from the field.
* The duo also helped pace a frontcourt effort that allowed a season-low 28 rebounds against a stout Pitt squad that entered the game with a +7.4 rebounding margin
* Junior Shane Richards continues to rank among the league leaders in scoring (10.9-18th), fueled by 2.2 triples per game (4th MAAC) and is the lone Jasper to start every game.
* Richards is third in school history with 162 career three pointers, just one behind Luis Flores' second-place total of 163 and three back of Devon Austin's school-record mark of 165.
* Sophomore Tyler Wilson handed out four assists against Pitt, marking the fifth time this season he has dished out at least four, and continues to lead the team and ranks fifth in the MAAC with 3.4 assists each time out while ranking 10th with 1.4 steals each time out.
* Senior RaShawn Stores returned against Marist and handed out a team-best four assists, against no turnovers, in 15 minutes of action. Thanks to Stores, the Jaspers dished out a season-high 19 helpers while Manhattan also pulling down a season-high 45 rebounds and matching its season-best with 10 steals.
* Thanks to the return of Stores, the Jaspers played a season-high 13 players while fielding their deepest bench of the season.
* Stores (2), sophomore Jermaine Lawrence (4), classmate Carlton Allen (2), freshman Samson Usilo (8) and classmate Zane Waterman (5) have combined to miss 21 games this season.
* At Pitt, Stores became the 10th different Manhattan student-athlete to start a game.
* After playing just one minute against Rutgers, freshman Calvin Crawford scored seven first-half points at Pitt.
* Prior to thePitt game, Julius Stevenson was welcomed to the Jasper family and sat directly behind the Jasper bench. Stevenson was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) on July 22. CML is a chronic form of Leukemia that is commonly found people that are over the age of 60. He is only one of a handful of children under the age of four diagnosed with this rare form of childhood Leukemia in the entire United States
* Thanks to the frontcourt play, 16 of the Manhattan's 17 two-point field goals at Pitt and 17 of their 18 two-point field goals against Rutgers came from the paint.
* The Jaspers pressured the Scarlet Knights into a season-high 21 turnovers, marking the fourth time in eight games that the Jaspers have forced at least 20 in a game.
* Former Manhattan student-athlete, coach and administrator Jack Powers was honored with an ECAC Lifetime Award at halftime of the St. John's-Fordham game on Sunday at MSG.
* Since returning to Riverdale, Masiello has led the Manhattan to the program's fourth MAAC Championship as well as a pair of 20-plus win campaigns. In his first tenure, he was a part of two MAAC Championships and three 20-plus win seasons.
* All told, Masiello has been a member of three of the Jaspers' four MAAC Championship teams and five of their 12 20-win seasons while accruing a 145-82 record.
* In his 19th season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 423-192, including 302-164 on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship appearances, two Final Four appearances, six Elite Eight berths, seven conference championships, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
KEY MATCH-UPS
* Homecourt Advantage - Manhattan will be playing at home for just the second time this season and will have to protect its homecourt against a Morgan State squad that has struggled on the road.
* Defense - The Jaspers have proven their mettle on the defensive end of the court and has a favorable match-ups against a Bear unit that is shooting just 33.7 percent from the field, including a paltry 26.3 percent from long range.
* Turn Morgan State Over - Manhattan has forced at least 20 turnovers in four of its nine games but will face a Morgan State team that is averaging just 11.7 miscues per game while posting a +5.5 turnover margin.
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP
While Manhattan has struggled at the line this season and converted on at least 70.0 percent in a game once, its opponents are making good at a ridiculous .771 mark that would rank among the national leaders. Seven times this season, opponents have hit on 70-percent standard seven times, including at least 92 percent on three occasions.
HISTORY LESSON
Last year all seven of Manhattan's non-conference wins came either on the road or neutral courts. This season the Jaspers will play four road and four neutral site games in the non-conference portion of their schedule.
PROJECT MAYHEM
Manhattan has forced at least 19 turnovers in five of its nine games and ranks third among MAAC leaders and 69th nationally with a +2.2 turnover margin.
SECOND-HALF IMPROVEMENT
Pankey (6.4 ppg - 4.6 ppg), Andujar (8.4 ppg - 4.6 ppg) and Wilson (3.4 ppg - 2.0 ppg) have all improved their scoring after halftime this season compared to the first half. Additionally, over the last four games Andujar is averaging 11.8 points per game while shooting a blistering 70.8 percent (17-for-24).
RICHARDS' CAREER NIGHT PACES MANHATTAN
Richards scored a career-high 24 points while also handing out a personal-best five assists, against no turnovers, in leading Manhattan to a 78-63 win over Binghamton in the first game of the 2014 Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF) Tip-Off Springfield Bracket. Richards' averaged 15.5 points and 3.5 assists per game over the weekend en route to earning All-Tournament honors.
RICHARDS LIGHTS IT UP FROM DOWNTOWN
Richards, the 2012-2013 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year matched the single-season Manhattan school record with 77 three pointers a year ago and is currently fourth in the league and 154th nationally with 2.2 threes per game. He is also third in school history with 162 career triples and with one more would match former Jasper standout and Denver Nugget Luis Flores.
UP NEXT
The Jaspers will play Fordham in the Battle of the Bronx at the Barclays Center on Monday, Dec. 22 at 6 pm..
