Quinnipiac men’s basketball faced the Manhattan Jaspers in what turned out to be a strategical battle through two halves of play. Manhattan displayed a lot of determination and skill to seal a win at the TD Sports Center Sunday afternoon by a score of 63-59.

“Manhattan is a terrific defensive team and also imposes the most unique challenge to your offense of any team in the league with their pressure at certain times,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore said.

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The Jaspers successfully held on to the lead throughout the duration of the game to spoil Senior Day for three Bobcat seniors, guards Giovanni McLean and James Ford Jr., as well as center Will Simonton.

The loss drops the Bobcats record to 6-12 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 9-18 overall, while Manhattan boosts to 9-8 within the conference and 12-14 overall.

Moore described McLean’s experience at Quinnipiac as a great opportunity.

“He has impact on the program on and off the court,” Moore said. “Giovanni is not a person where you need to drag to class or seems half interested. He has been disciplined taking advantage of every opportunity not only growing as a basketball player but as a person.”

Both teams proved to be physical as the Jaspers made their first four consecutive shots to gain an early lead over the Bobcats by a score of 11-6 before a timeout was called. The Bobcats gained some confidence as they rallied to gain a one point lead before the Jaspers started heating up from the three-point line.

The Jaspers were shot 66 percent from the three-point line in the first half as Shane Richards had 13 of his game-high 21 points in the first half shooting 3-4 from the three.

In the second half, Manhattan went on a run expanding their lead by a score of 39-27 in which turned into a defensive battle between squads.

In the second half the Bobcats came out with more intensity and determination as strategical adjustments were made. Even though the Jaspers full court trap zone press can be difficult to predict, the Bobcats began to sink their shots.

McLean notably had 15 points in against the Jaspers, banking 13 of those points in the second half.

“We just needed some offense from somewhere and I decided to step up and make some shots,” McLean said. “It gave us momentum and everyone fed off of that.”

The Bobcats did not go away subtly as they cut the lead in the latter half of the game by a score of 54-49.

Quinnipiac forward Chaise Daniels, proved to be viable scorer for the Bobcats as he had a solid performance, scoring 15 points against the Jaspers, with 13 coming in the second half..

The Jaspers went on to seal the win in a struggle of a match when RaShawn Stores sank a jumper to make the score 61-56 with seven left seconds on the clock.

The Bobcats will be back in action Friday as they take a road New York to face Marist College along with another matchup facing Siena College on Saturday, Feb. 28.