Loyola College kept Manhattan from a major accomplishment last year, and the Jaspers weren't about to let the Greyhounds do it again last night.
Manhattan built a 20-point lead with nine minutes to go and held on for a 91-83 victory over Loyola at Reitz Arena, and the Jaspers' 19th victory made them the winningest Division I team in the nation. Fran Fraschilla's club is perched atop the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and it had no trouble getting up for sixth-place Loyola.
Eleven months ago, the brightest moment in Loyola's basketball history came at Manhattan's expense, as the Jaspers were the last upset victim in the Greyhounds' improbable run to the MAAC tournament title.
Fact is, Manhattan (19-2, 8-1) would be primed for its third straight NCAA title if not for Loyola (6-14, 2-6), and the Jaspers continued to take the revenge that began with a 29-point victory over the Greyhounds in New York two weeks ago.
"Every time we play Loyola, we look at them as the team that kept us out of the NCAAs," said Manhattan's Ted Ellis, a junior guard out of DeMatha. "Other than Tracy Bergan and Michael Reese, it's pretty much the same team as last year. We respect them."
Manhattan, which played without leading scorer Heshimu Evans, who was out with a sprained ankle, got 25 points from Ellis, 22 from sophomore guard Tarik Thacker and 16 and six rebounds from junior forward Justin Phoenix. Senior forward B. J. Pendleton led Loyola with 23 points and seven rebounds, and freshman guard John McDonald had 21.
For all intents, the loss clinched the seventh non-winning record in eight seasons for Loyola. It came at the start of a five-game homestand, and now that the hottest team in the MAAC is out of the way, first-year coach Brian Ellerbe hopes the Greyhounds can gather some momentum for the conference tournament.
Loyola had a 16-15 lead after 10 minutes, but the Greyhounds made too many mistakes to stick with a team the caliber of Manhattan.
"Whenever you make a mistake against a good team, it's exploited," Ellerbe said. "All those mistakes are something we can control. That's more us than the other team."
Manhattan used the errors to go on an 11-2 run, and it never trailed again. Loyola got within 28-26 with five minutes left in the half, but the Jaspers answered with a 9-0 run.