Coach Gallagher celebrating his win after the game.
GOJASPERS.COM / COURTESY
Emmanouel Sofillas, Managing Editor
Men’s Lacrosse
After dropping their past three games, the Jasper Men’s Lacrosse team needed a big win over a talented Merrimack squad. They did exactly that on their trip up to North Andover, as they downed Merrimack with a score of 12-11.
Manhattan started off red hot, as they paired three straight stops with the same amount of goals, putting them in front 3-0 to start the afternoon. The goals came courtesy of Drew Hiner unassisted shot, Aidan Kane and Scott O’Connor scoring on while man up.
Merrimack went on a run of their own to tie the game back up at 3-3. That run would be put to a halt by Conor Engel, as he scored to put the Jaspers back up 4-3. Shortly after, Merrimack’s Brady Covey would score again, confirming this game would go back and forth all afternoon long as the game was knotted back at four.
Manhattan would score two more to end the half, and put them up 6-4. Merrimack would then go on to open the second half with three goals of their own. For the first time that afternoon, Merrimack had the lead and were red hot.
Manhattan took away their lead within two minutes of the last goal, as Tyler Mosca netted the Jaspers eighth goal. This would only be the start of a four-goal run for Manhattan, as Liam Peabody went back-to-back to end the third and start the fourth. Hiner would score the Jaspers fourth straight, and put them up 10-7.
Merrimack wouldn’t go down without a fight, as they would tie the game up again at 10. The Jaspers would score two more, courtesy of Conor Engel completing the hat trick to give the Jaspers their twelfth and winning goal.
The Jaspers now stand 1-0 against MAAC competition. Their next game will be back at Gaelic Park, as they take on Mt. St. Mary’s next Saturday.
Men’s Basketball
Manhattan continued its late-season surge with a dominant second-half performance, pulling away from Sacred Heart for a 90-74 victory in Riverdale. After a tightly contested first half that saw 11 lead changes, the Jaspers turned up the intensity after halftime to secure their third straight win and lock in a first-round bye for the upcoming MAAC Championships.
Jaden Winston set the tone early, drilling three consecutive three-pointers to give Manhattan an 11-5 lead. The Jaspers extended their advantage to nine before Sacred Heart responded with a run of its own, briefly taking the lead late in the first half. However, Winston and Devin Dinkins provided clutch baskets down the stretch, allowing Manhattan to head into the locker room with a narrow 46-45 advantage.
The second half was a completely different story. Manhattan came out firing, opening with a 10-0 run featuring key three-pointers from Wesley Robinson and Shaquil Bender. Sacred Heart tried to stay within striking distance, cutting the deficit to seven at one point, but Manhattan had an answer every time. Fraser Roxburgh stepped up with three second-half threes, while Masiah Gilyard delivered a strong all-around performance, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
With the game slipping away, Sacred Heart had no response to Manhattan’s depth and efficiency. The Jaspers shot 40.7% from beyond the arc and were nearly automatic from the free-throw line, converting 86.7% of their attempts. They also dominated second-chance opportunities, outscoring Sacred Heart 23-14 in that category.
Head coach John Gallagher praised the leadership of Winston and Gilyard, emphasizing their importance to the team’s success. Winston, who finished with 17 points and six assists, credited Roxburgh’s versatility, calling him “one of the best players on the court every time he plays.”