Box Score RIVERDALE, N.Y. – A furious second half comeback for Saint Peter's fell short and Manhattan came away with a 68-63 victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.
Tyler Gaskins (Roswell, Ga./Centennial [Lawson State]) paced the Peacocks (8-8, 2-3 MAAC) with a career-high 20 points while Rodney Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) added a career-best 14 points off the bench.
Emmy Andujar fueled the Jaspers (6-8, 3-2 MAAC) with 21 points. Ashton Pankey added 18 points and nine rebounds while RaShawn Stores chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
Manhattan used a strong offensive first half to take a double-digit lead and Saint Peter's gave them a fight in the second half to cut the margin to four points, but the Jaspers came away with the victory for their eighth-straight win against the Peacocks.
Trailing by as many as 17 points, Saint Peter's used a 12-2 run to cut a 56-42 deficit into a four-point game with 3:48 left.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) started the run with two free throws to trim the Jaspers lead to 56-44 with 8:17 on the clock. Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State0) hit a free throw at 7:37 and Gaskins scored in the lane to cut it to single digits at 56-47 on a layup with 7:14 on the clock.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) and Andujar traded points before Gaskins hit a jumper at 4:15 and then drained a trey at 3:38 to establish a new career-high with 20 points and cut the margin to 58-54. Stores answered with a triple of his own 17 seconds later and Saint Peter's could get no closer until the waning seconds of the contest.
After the first half it did not look like it would come down to the wire after Manhattan used a 15-2 run to take a double-digit lead and then a 10-0 run to end the half to regain a double-figure margin to go into the locker room with a 41-22 advantage.
With the game tied at 9, the Jaspers took the lead for good on a 15-2 spurt over a five-minute span to take a 26-11 advantage. Andujar powered the run with nine points.
The Peacocks then made a run to make it a nine-point margin with 4:01 on the clock in the first half. Wyche started a 7-1 spurt with a free throw at 8:40 before Gaskins scored in the lane at 8:10.
After Jermaine Lawrence hit the second of two free throws at 8:03, Gaskins nailed a jumper at 7:38 and Hawkins scored in the lane at 6:24 to cut the margin to 29-20.
The two teams then traded baskets before Manhattan scored the final 10 points of the first half to go into the locker room with a 41-22 advantage. Andujar had four points while Stores and Shane Richards each contributed three points in that span.
Dominique finished the game with six points and eight rebounds while Wyche added five points, five assists and three steals.
The loss ended the squad's four-game winning streak, but the team has won eight of its last 12 games.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Saturday when the team continues its three-game road trip at Rider in an hOURglass Rivalry matchup. Game time is 2 p.m.
