Belfast, Northern Ireland - HISTORY! Manhattan became the first men's basketball team in the Division I ranks to win a game in Northern Ireland, topping Holy Cross 70-54 in the opener of the inaugural Belfast Classic at the SSE Arena.
The Jaspers improve to 3-4 and will next face Towson in tomorrow's Championship at 12:00 pm (EST).
Seniors Calvin Crawford (Middletown, NY / St. Thomas More (CT)) and Zane Waterman (Winston-Salem, NC / Fayetteville Academy) each had a team and game-high 14 points to pace four double-figure scorers for Manhattan.
The Jaspers led wire-to-wire thanks to a dominating first half that saw Manhattan shoot a blistering 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the floor, including a blistering 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from inside the arc, while forcing 10 miscues that led to a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
Holy Cross opened the second-half scoring with a three pointer on its first possession before the Jaspers put the game away with a 13-0 run that took just under five minutes and gave the Jaspers an insurmountable 52-26 lead with 13:52 to play.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Manhattan had four double-figure scorers for the second-straight game.
- The Jaspers shot a season-high 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the line.
- Manhattan won the battle of the boards for the the fifth time this season while limiting the opposition to 30 or less for the fourth time this season.
- The Jaspers picked up their first win over a Patriot League team since defeating American on November 25, 2007.
- Manhattan ripped off a 26-8 run that bridged the end of the first half and the beginning of the second en route to turning an eight-point lead into the aforementioned 52-26 advantage early in the second period.
- Waterman, sophomore Aaron Walker Jr. (Brooklyn, NY / Cardozo) and freshman Nehemiah Mack (Harrisburg, PA / Massanutten Prep (VA)) each had six points in the spurt.
- The Jaspers converted eight three pointers, highlighted by four Waterman triples as the North Carolina native scored a season-high 14 points.
- Freshman Ebube Ebube (San Juan, Puerto Rico / Lawrenceville Academy (NJ)) scored the first seven points of his collegiate career while pulling down six rebounds, all of which came on the offensive end.
- Junior Matt Maloney (Somers, NY / Somers) and sophomore Jesse Boyce (Thornwood, NY / Westlake) each made their season debuts with Boyce grabbing his first career rebound.
- Holy Cross was led by Caleb Green, who had 11 points.
UP NEXT
- Manhattan will square off with Towson on Saturday, December 2 at 12:00 pm (EST) in a game that will air live on the CBS Sports Network.