RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan sophomore guard Donavan Kates scored 14 points and his backcourt mate RaShawn Stores chipped in 13 points off the bench as the host Jaspers defeated Canisius College 67-54 Thursday night in Draddy Gymnasium. The win improved Manhattan to 8-15 overall and 6-7 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffs slipped to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in league action.

Canisius senior Alshwan Hymes scored a game-high 16 points in his first start of the season after he went 5-for-10 from the field, 4-for-8 from 3-point land and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line in 22 minutes of action. Junior Billy Baron scored 14 points while senior Harold Washington added eight points as the Griffs shot 34.1 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from 3-point land while turning the ball over 15 times. Manhattan shot 54.8 percent from the floor in the win and 53.8 percent from behind the 3-point arc, and the Jaspers ended the night with a 29-24 advantage on the glass.

"It is tough to win on the road and to Manhattan's credit, they were ready to go tonight," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "They really took it to us early with their full-court pressure where they forced us into some turnovers and then scored off our mistakes. We only had nine offensive rebounds tonight. That's not enough. We need to hit the boards and get second-chance points and they held us to three points there. Give them credit, that is a good, athletic team and they played their game tonight."

Manhattan jumped out to an early 12-1 lead 5:03 into the ball game and never looked back. The Griffs scored their first field goal 5:35 into the game on a Chris Manhertz lay-up, and he would make the score 12-4 with 14:25 left before the break after he hit the free-throw for a traditional three-point play. A 3-pointer by senior Isaac Sosa with 13:52 left before halftime got Canisius within five at 12-7, but a pair of 3-pointers by Kates and Stores and a put-back bucket from forward Rhamel Brown made the score 20-7 in favor of the Jaspers with 9:02 left in the first stanza. Manhattan led by as many as 18 in the game's first 20 minutes and took a 35-19 lead into the locker room at halftime after Canisius shot just 18.2 percent (4-for-22) from the field and turned the ball over nine times before intermission.

The second half saw much of the same, as Manhattan pushed its cushion to as many as 27 points at 53-26 with 12:07 left in the game after Kates knifed through the lane for a lay-up. Manhattan had four players in double figures in the win, with Brown adding 13 points with Michael Alvarado posting 10 points and a game-high four assists.

For Canisius, which saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with the loss, Manhertz had six points and five rebounds with junior Jordan Heath adding six boards and three blocked shots. Senior Freddy Asprilla had three blocks as well, while junior Reggie Groves was credited with a team-high three assists in the losing effort.

The Griffs will be back on the road Sunday, Feb. 10, when the team travels north to play at Niagara. Game time in Lewiston, N.Y., is set for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel in New York state.

Game Notes: This was the 82nd all-time meeting between these two schools, with Manhattan holding a 49-33 lead in the series... The Griffs are now 6-21 all-time in Manhattan's Draddy Gymnasium... The 54 points scored are the fewest for the Griffs since the Blue and Gold lost at Siena by the score of 57-54 Jan. 11... Hymes' 3-point field goal with 3:32 left in the game was the 200th in his career, making him just the second Canisius player (along with former Griff Toby Foster) to knock down 200 or more career 3-pointers... Hymes was in the starting lineup because Washington missed two days of practice this week with an illness... Prior to Thursday, Washington had started 39-straight games, dating back to last year... Asprilla's three blocked shots ties his career high, previously set Dec. 20, 2008 against South Alabama... Groves' three assists gives him multiple assists in 13 games this year.