Anthony Nelson Hits 1,000-Points

Isaiah Rosario

Asst. Sports Editor

It is time to add one more to the list of greats. 5th-year guard Anthony Nelson scored his 1,000th point against Caniscus. The field goal that put Nelson over the hump was a step-up three to close out the first half.

Nelson tallied a total of 1,032 points in his career, with his highest scoring season being this season with above 300 points, he has never tallied a 300 point season until this season.

“It means a lot,” Nelson told The Quadrangle. “It’s a blessing. I’ve been through a lot. I’m not even supposed to be here right now. So I just give all glory to God.”

As a coach, it is a great thing to see your players grow into the people that they are now. Head coach RaShawn Stores had great praise for Nelson when he hit the 1,000-point mark.

“I’m just happy to see these young men grow,” Stores said. “[Nelson] has been through a lot and just to see his leadership and these young men following him, he’s becoming a great leader. A big-time leader on and off the court and like [Nelson] said, God is blessing them right now and blessing us. That’s great to see.”

Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marianne Reilly also congratulated Nelson for scoring 1,000 points in his career.

“Ant Nelson is such a talented player,” Reilly said. “He’s versatile, he can do so many things for us and I’m very proud that he has joined the 1000-point club. Well, well deserved.”

Friday night, Nelson and the Jaspers took on first-place seed Siena. Siena came to Riverdale with a record of 15-7 with a conference record of 9-2. Manhattan walked into the match with a record of 7-13 and a conference record of 5-6.

This matchup was the first of the season for Siena and Manhattan. This is the 108th time Manhattan and Sienna have met. Manhattan leads this one-on-one match with a record of 57-50. According to ESPN Analytics, Sienna had a 66.1 percent chance of winning compared to a Manhattan 33.9 percent chance of winning.

Nelson got the game started with a three-pointer just left from the top of the key and Siena fired back with a three of their own to tie the game at 3. At the first media timeout,

Manhattan and Sienna were tied at seven with 14 minutes left to play in the first half.

Manhattan started the game off slow as they shot 30.8 percent from the field 10 minutes into the game. At the halfway mark, the score was 13-10 in favor of Sienna.

After a miss by the Jaspers, Nelson had a putback that had the Jaspers within four and soon after forward Josh Roberts made a layup to bring the Jaspers within two. Within the blink of an eye, the Jaspers tied it up with two made free throws from forward James Jewell. The Jaspers took the lead with seven minutes left in the first half after a made layup from guard Marques Watson.

Sienna guard Andrew Platek made a three with six minutes to go to put the Saints up one. With 5.5 seconds left, Platek stole the ball on an inbound pass and made a layup to beat the buzzer. Sienna ended the half with six unanswered to end the half and were up 2720 at the half.

The question arose at half whether this game was a defensive showing or if the offenses played sloppy. Both Manhattan and Sienna ended the half shooting under 40 percent from the field. Entering the game

Sienna allowed 66.1 points per game and Manhattan allowed 71.6 points per game. Only time would be the only one to tell.

Guard Nick Brennen opened up the half with a driving layup to bring Manhattan within five. The lead for the Saints remained in the range of five to seven points for the first five minutes of the second half. Roberts scored an and-one to help bring the Jaspers within three with 12 and a half minutes remaining. Nelson made a driving layup to bring the Jaspers back within one point.

Sienna forward Jackson Stormo made a turnaround jumper to quiet the 6th borough with 11 minutes remaining. Guard Samir Stewart made two free throws to help bring the Jaspers back within one in this defensive battle. Draddy Gymnasium erupted as guard and forward Logan Padgett hit a massive three to put the Jaspers up two with 10 minutes left to play.

With 7 minutes left to play, the Jaspers and the Saints were tied up 42-42. Jaspers’ guard Marques Watson scored a driving layup to put the Jaspers back up two. Saints Guard Jared Billups silenced the 6th borough as he single-handedly scored five, unanswered, to put the Saints up two with six to play.

Stewart came up big for the Jaspers as he hit a big three with three minutes to go to put the Jaspers within three. Platek also came up big for the Saints as he hit a massive three to put the Saints up six with under two minutes to go. Jaspers came up big on defense as they forced the Saints to use their final timeout because they were unable to get the ball in.

Stewart went to the line with 48.8 seconds to go in the half and hit three free throws to bring the Jaspers within one. With a chance to take the lead, Stewart missed a three and forced the Jaspers to commit a foul to put the Saints at the line which put the lead to two.

Nelson tied the game at 57 with a massive two-pointer. Draddy was electric as “We Will Rock You” by Queen sounds the gymnasium up. Tied at 57 the Jaspers and Saints went to overtime.

Overtime opened up with a foul on Sienna’s Platek and Roberts went to the line with the chance to put the Jaspers up two, instead, Roberts missed both free throws but Padgett came up big with a layup to put the Jaspers up two.

Stewart left his body on the floor for the Jaspers as he launched himself over the scores table to save a possession for the Jaspers. Sienna forward Padgett Jackson Stormo hit two free throws for the Saints as he tied the game at 59. Soon after the free throws, Brennen made an and-one as Draddy erupted as he put the Jaspers up one.

Nelson added insurance for the Jaspers making a driving layup to put the Jaspers up four with 2:12 to go in overtime. Sienna forward Michael Baer made a layup to bring Sienna back within two. The Sienna fan section erupts as Platek hits a three to put Sienna up one. After a steal from Stewart, Brennen makes a huge three to put the Jaspers back up top.

The 6th Borough began to chant “You can’t do that ‘’ as

Sienna guard Jayce Johnson pushed Stewart to the ground and Stewart made one of two free throws to extend the lead to three. After a scary moment for Padgett, when he falls for a pump fake and lands on his back, he gets up okay with the 6th Borough cheering him on. As Johnson heads to the line, he misses one big free throw that would have brought the Saints within one, but the Jaspers headed to the line to extend their lead to three with six seconds to go.

Roberts headed to the line with the chance to make the game a two-possession game. Roberts made two crucial first free throws as he put the Saints down four. With Sienna having to foul, Stewart headed to the line to ice the game where he made one free throw. The game ends with chants from the 6th borough chanting “M-V-P” for Samir Stewart. The final score is 7166, with the Jaspers upsetting the first-place Siena Saints.

Brennen had high praise for the 6th borough as they showed out in high numbers for the second time this season and explained from a player perspective how important the 6th borough are for the players.

“It’s everything,” Brennen said. “We need their energy, their energy fuels us when they take the other teams out of it and it means a lot. We need them every year.”