Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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their first point, the Manhattanites had accumulated eleven points and continued to keep the game a one-sided affair throughout. jack Byrnes took top scoring honors by sinking six field goals and four foul shots for a total of sixteen points. Johnny Hughes, who up until this game concentrated chiefly on play-making and defensive tactics, took second place hon- ors with fourteen points. Koa fan VV hen there is an exceptionally bright star in the heavens it usually dims the brilliance of the other celestial bodies. The same is true on earth. One of the less known stars of the Jasper Five is Gerard Cohane. Gerry has been a consis- tent point scorer in every game but the fact has gone unnoticed in the light of Jack Byrnes' performance. After hitting for eight, seven, and nine points in the three previous games, Chico, as Gerry is well known, hit the limelight with thir- teen markers against Boston College. This was the Hrst game away from their home court and in front of the Boston crowd, the Manhattanites suffered a bad case of the jitters. The final score was in favor of Manhattan 50 - 44 but it took an overtime to win. The play throughout the entire game was hard and the score was just as close. The two teams were never separated by more than six points and then only once when Manhattan led by that much midway in the second half. But the Eagles rallied to lead 41-40 with only a minute left when Gerry Cohane made a one-handed hook shot to put the Green ahead. WVith five seconds remain- ing, the Eagles tied the game up on a foul shot. Deadlocked 42 all at the end of regulation play, the teams exchanged bas- kets and then Joe Stewart dropped in a sensational shot from mid-court and Bob 25 Kelly and Gerry Cohane followed with field goals to provide the margin of vic- tory. This was the Jasper's sixth victory in a row and the sixth in seven games. Cl'Cl,l'l t0I'l, ' In the game played for the benefit of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Hospital Fund, the Jaspers gained a surprisingly easy victory over Scranton University. The visitors set up a zone defense which the Green set about cracking. Scoring during the first half was slow, but in the second period the Green romped over Scranton. Jack Byrnes penetrated the Scranton zone for several quick layups and the coy Jasper team played their best game of the season. Following in the usual pattern, Byrnes was again the high man with thirteen points. gig am young Madison Square Garden is truly the Waterloo of Manhattan basketball teams. Many fine records built up by jasper basketball teams have been left to cool on the ice beneath the Garden court. This year has been no exception as the Green has lost all three of its Garden games. The Cougars of Brigham Young were the first to defeat Manhattan in the Gar- den this year. Going into the game as the underdog, the Green gave a fine perform- ance in the first half only to fold up and go down to defeat in the second period. The Cougars took an early lead and held it until midway in the first half the Jas- pers caught up and passed the visitors. Manhattan led by four points with only a couple of minutes remaining before intermission but sharp shooting by Brady VValker, six foot seven giant, put the Cougars in front at the half by one point. Up to this point, Coach Russell's charges made up for their lack of height by 3 i

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spirited and aggressive play that kept them in the game. Charley Verschuuren was outstanding not only offensively, net- ting ten points in the half, but also de- fensively. The second half began just as the lirst ended, nip and tuck, but the class of the team from Utah soon began to show as they slowly piled up a convincing lead. Manhattan was not to be beaten so easily though and rallied midway in the second half to draw within three points, trailing by 39-36 only to have the Cougars take command and increase their lead to a comfortable margin. john Hughes with seven points in the second half kept Man- hattan in the game. Chico Cohane and Charley Verschuuren were high men for the Green with eleven points each. .14 Arigdf One half hour after arriving in Read- ing, the Jasper team took the floor against Albright College. Although stiff and tired after the long ride, the -laspers found little competition in Albright. Gaining a quick lead on a goal and a foul by Joe Stewart the Green never were behind and had no trouble in defeating an outclassed Albright team. Scoring honors went to Bob Kelly who tossed in sixteen points, hitting for seven from the floor and two from the foul line. As usual the attack was centered around captain Charley Verschuuren who in addition to making ten points proved the steady play- maker on an otherwise wild team. The final score read Manhattan 58, Albright 41. KO! eg? After a two year lapse, Manhattan and City College resumed basketball relations in the Garden. Remembering the 59 - 46 drubbing at the hands of the '43 Jasper 2 team, City avenged itself by defeating the '46 Green team 53 - 45. As with Brig- ham Young, it was a case of the jitters that beat the green Green team. The young Jasper team gained an early lead and had the Beavers bewildered, they played so well. Manhattan trailed four to two and then made twelve points in a row to take an astounding lead. A tremendous upset seemed in the making. Then with five minutes remaining in the first half and Manhattan leading 18 - 7 the roof caved in. The Green live which had been setting up their plays with the coolness of veterans and had been performing so well, suddenly reversed their form and allowed City to catch up, the Jasper lead being whittled to 20 to 19 at the half. The Beavers led by Captain Paul Schmones proved to be the better team for that nightls second half. The eventual result seemed evident in the first few minutes as City quickly went ahead and began to increase their lead to ten points before Manhattan could begin to keep pace. 'M CLIZOUCL In a surprisingly close but well played game the Jaspers downed a stubborn Villanova live 57 to 47. The score was tied five times in a thrilling first half at the end of which Manhattan led 29 - 27. Although the Wilclcats have not fared well this season, for a while it looked as though they might upset the Iaspers as they began to click with their long shots. The Villanova team were putting in some amazing shots and it appeared that every time they shot the ball went in. However the accurate shooting of John Hughes, Bob Kelly and Jack Byrnes kept the Green on top. Byrnes was the star of the game making nineteen points for scoring honors and playing a brilliant floor game. Hughes and Kelly each made twelve. 55