RIVERDALE, NY – Monmouth led just over the halfway point of the second half, but a Manhattan surge put the Jaspers in front for good as the home team captured a 93-76 win over MU Saturday night at Draddy Gym. Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) and Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) led MU with 19 and 16 points respectively. Zane Waterman netted a game-high 28 points for the Jaspers.

The game was knotted at 56 with 9:49 to go before Pauly Paulicap gave Manhattan the lead and Rich Williams followed with a wing triple on the next possession. Thomas Capuano hit from deep the next trip before Zavier Turner scored 14 straight points to extend the Manhattan lead to 18. The half began with MU netting the first five points to take a lead and Hammond knocked in four threes in 3:47, giving the Hawks their largest lead of four in the process.

Manhattan led by as many as 13 in the opening half before MU battled back, getting it down to two on a  breakaway layup from Salnave after he collected one of his five steals in the game. That bucket capped a Hawks 13-2 run to get back within a possession after Waterman netted 19 points in the opening 20 minutes for the Jaspers.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"We ran into a buzzsaw. Steve [Masiello] is one of the best coaches in the league, especially after the first time you play them. My kids tried hard tonight, we fought… I didn't help my kids enough tonight." – King Rice

-Deion Hammond knocked in five threes to tie a career high for the third time this season.
-Hammond's 19 points marked his eighth double digit effort in nine games.
-Ray Salnave scored 16 points, his seventh time in nine games scoring in double digits.
-Salnave was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line, his best night from the stripe in his career.
-Salnave picked off a career-best five steals, tying Austin Tilghman's season best for MU, set by Tilghman the last time MU played Manhattan.
-The teams split the season series, with each team winning at home.
-Manhattan is now 6-4 vs. MU since the Hawks joined the MAAC.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-MU was outshot 51.1% to 43.6% by Manhattan.
-Monmouth led in points in the paint by a 30-16 margin.
-The Blue and White scored 31 bench points compared to Manhattan's 10.
-Waterman scored a game high 28 for Manhattan, followed by Turner's 25.
-The Hawks drop to 4-9 in league play, while the Jaspers improve to 7-7.
-The Hawks were outrebounded 33-26.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth is back at home Tuesday night to take on Saint Peter's at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3.