Monmouth University men’s basketball team (12-6, 4-3 MAAC) defeated Manhattan College (10-7, 3-4) 78-62, on Jan. 23.
In the victorious game, five Hawks scored double digits, Nikkei Rutty racked in a double-double, which was the second offhis career and first since February 2, 2020 against Rider. This was Monmouth’s second straight win after they led by 21 without trailing throughout the afternoon.
The Hawks got right to it in the second half as graduate student guard Shavar Reynolds Jr. scored a pair of buckets along with a three that flew the lead to 14. After this, Monmouth’s lead never dropped below double figures once.
Both graduate students forward Walker Miller and guard George Papas scored threes before graduate student guard Marcus McClary dunked, not to mention left-handed, for a 21-point game. It was smooth sailing from then on until their ultimate victory.
Very early on, the Hawks led by four and Papas and McClary served up consecutive triples which positively created a seven-point gap. Manhattan began to catch up soon making the gap only by two but the boys in blue and white swooped in and scored the next eight. This included a transition dunk from Miller extending the Hawks’ lead to 31-21. The Jaspers then scored seven straight with the half ending with the score of 35-31.
As far as individual achievements go, Nikkei Rutty was on his game. The senior forward posted 15 boards as his career high. It was also the second most in a game for a Monmouth player under King Rice. The last to hold it was Diago Quinn in 2016 against Niagra. Sophomore guard Jakari Spence also recorded his first career steal.
For the second time this season, five Hawks scored in double figures in this game against Manhattan with the first being against St. John’s. As for the MU starters, all five men scored in double digits as well for the first time sinc ethe 2019 MAAC quarterfinals against Quinnipiac. McClary started in both games.
Monmouth has now won seven in a row against Manhattan and is the second MAAC team to achieve 12 wins. In this game, the Hawks outshot Manhattan 43 percent to 36 percent. They now lead the all-time series 12-9 and will meet the Jaspers again on Feb. 11.
Looking ahead, Monmouth will host Canisius this Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
