Manhattan Moves To Championship Game With 87-68 Win
MAAC Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior swingman George Beamon poured in 25 points to lead second-seeded Manhattan to a 87-68 win over third-seeded Quinnipiac today in the second semifinal of the 2014 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship at the MassMutal Center.
The win advances the Jaspers into the MAAC championship game, where they will face Iona for the second straight year. The Jaspers fell to the Gaels, 60-57, in last year’s title game.
The first half had nine ties and the lead changed seven times before Manhattan and Quinnipiac settled for a 40-40 tie at halftime.
Manhattan (24-7) opened the second half by outscoring Quinnipiac 11-3 over the first 2:59 to take a 51-43 lead at the 17:01 mark. Beamon scored nine of the Jaspers’ 11 points during the run.
Manhattan continued to build on its lead through the second half, and eventually led by as many as 22 when junior forward Emmy Andujar hit a pair of free throws to make the score 83-61 with 1:51 remaining.
Junior forward Emmy Andjuar came off the bench to score 21 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the foul line, and senior forward/center Rhamel Brown added 16-points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. Brown also grabbed nine rebounds for the Jaspers.
The Jaspers had the hot hand in the second half, hitting 15-of-26 (57.7%) from the floor, including 6-of-9 (66.7%) from beyond the three-point arc. Beamon scored 23 of his game-high 25 in the second half.
Manhattan also hit 16-of-20 (80%) from the foul line, and out-rebounded the Bobcats 37-34. It was only the second time this season that Quinnipiac was beaten on the boards by an opponent.
Senior forward Ike Azotam led Quinnipiac (20-12) with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season. Senior guard Zaid Hearst added 15 points and freshman guard Kasim Chandler contributed 14 points and seven assists.