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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Despite a career-high 23 points from junior Ashton Pankey (Bronx, N.Y. / Maryland), Manhattan dropped a 67-54 decision to Fairfield in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener for both teams at Webster Bank Arena.
Fueled by a 17-2 run that spanned the end of the first and the beginning of the second half, the Stags improved to 3-5 on the season while the Jaspers fall to 1-5.
Manhattan will now return home for its long-awaited home opener at Draddy Gymnasium against Marist on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
Playing away from home for the sixth-straight game to start the season, the Jaspers stormed out of the gates on a 8-1 run thanks to hitting on three of their first four shots.
Fairfield, meanwhile, was ice-cold against a tenacious Manhattan defense that forced the Stags into 10-straight missed shots to start the game and 16-of-17 from the floor over an 11-plus minute stretch.
However, the Jaspers were unable to take advantage and turned the ball on seven-of-eight possessions over a two-minute stretch yet still led 8-7 midway through the opening stanza.
Marcus Gilbert would give Fairfield its first lead at 10-9 with 8:16 to play on a tip-in while snapping the Stags' early cold spell. Pankey quickly answered with a dunk only to see Fairfield respond quickly with six-straight points in opening up a 16-11 advantage with 5:18 until halftime.
Manhattan would trim the deficit to one on a pair of occasions thanks to Pankey, who scored seven of the Jaspers' final 10 points of the half.
As would be the story for the game, the Stags responded with a pair of baskets while forcing a pair of empty Manhattan possessions in taking a 27-22 halftime lead.
After its slow start, Fairfield scored on 11 of its final 13 possessions of the half starting with the aforementioned Gilbert tip-in.
Pankey was phenomenal in the opening period, scoring 13 of the Jaspers' 22 points while going 6-for-10 from the floor with two blocks.
After halftime, the Stags used a 13-2 run - including eight-straight in opening up a 40-24 lead with 15:44 to play in the game. Junior Shane Richards (New York, N.Y. / York Prep) finally stopped the bleeding with his first three pointer of the game while helping spark a 12-4 spurt that cut the deficit to 44-36 with 8:47 remaining.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as Manhattan would get as Marcus Gilbert hit a backbreaking three pointer with 8:22 to play to stretch the lead back out to double figures.
The lead would grow to a game-high 18 before Fairfield put away a pesky Jasper squad by a 67-54 score.
Marcus Gilbert led all players with 24 points while Pankey finished with 23 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Pankey's 23-point effort was the third 20-point effort by a Manhattan student-athlete this year while bettering his previous career-best mark of 17 set against Radford on Dec. 23, 2011.
Joining Pankey in double-figures was senior Emmy Andujar (Bronx, N.Y. / Rice), who finished one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points | 9 rebounds).
The Jaspers shot a respectable 41.9 percent (18-for-43), but were just 20.0 percent (3-for-15) from deep, while turning the ball over 21 times.
Fairfield, meanwhile, converted on 42.2 percent (19-for-45) from the field, including 62.1 percent (18-for-29) over the final 28-plus minutes.
