Manhattan rolls in MAAC tourney opener, beats Marist 81-63

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Shane Richards scored 27 points and Manhattan rolled to an 81-63 victory over Marist on Thursday night in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament opener.

The sixth-seeded Jaspers (13-17) shot 63 percent from the field, and move on to face No. 3 seed Siena in a quarterfinal game Saturday.

Richards made all five of his 3-point attempts and was 11 of 15 from the field. Rich Williams and Calvin Crawford scored 16 points apiece for Manhattan, which has won seven straight MAAC tournament games, including six by double-digits, and are 9-2 under coach Steve Masiello.

Khallid Hart scored 19 points and Isaiah Lamb added 18 for 11th-seeded Marist (7-23), which had a two-game win streak snapped.

The Jaspers had a double-digit lead six minutes into the game, led 29-9 midway through the first half and built a 46-29 halftime lead.