By Mark Slane, ElevationMag.com

Around the Jasper’s court there was a bit of a surprise as Division I newcomer, NJIT stepped up, caught up and passed the Jaspers with seconds left in the fourth in a 56-55 win over Manahattan. The Jaspers couldn’t break the Highlander zone and found themselves more often than not in a traffic jam in the paint with Arturo Dubois being doubled down low as the zone collapsed on him. This coupled with ineffective shooting from outside the arc didn’t help the Jasper’s cause.

"We didn't shoot a great percentage. Their zone had a lot to do with it and we couldn't get into a rhythm on offense. We just weren't able to close this one out." coach Barry Rohrssen said of his first regular season game with Manhattan. The Jaspers were only 4 for 24 from three point land.

Manhattan junior veteran, 6-8, Arturo Dubois led the Jaspers with 13 points. He also found himself tied up with “00” Dan Stonkus a 6-9 freshman monster more often than not. When asked about the game, Dubois was calm and mature, and stressed that his team was not surprised; they know this is basketball, and NJIT can play it. Although frustrated by 4 easy shots that just bounced off the rim to miss and after receiving a ‘T’ after a monster fast break and dunk he kept his cool and moved on. "We're young, we just got to work hard and play defense. We'll be all right.", “…it’s basketball,” said Dubois. He and the team will hit the practice court this week with defense on their minds and maybe some thoughts on dealing with the zone on ‘O’.

Elsewhere in the MAAC, Loyola, Maryland fell to the Midshipmen in the opener 73-61. As expected, Navy had the intensity to make up for their youth. At Fairfield it took two overtimes for American to beat the Stags 59-54 as size won out here. Intensity defined the game and the stands at this nail biter. Even with the loss Jonathan Han said, “If we could have played three more overtimes, we would have loved it."

In another MAAC battle Buffalo took Canisius 81-76 in the opener. Calvin Cage of the Bulls led his team with 22 points as those combined with total control over the boards led to a ‘1’ in the ‘L” column for the Griffins. Another MAAC contender, Marist, got a lesson in basketball from Ohio in Athens on its opening day as they fell on the road 83-66. Siena fell to Stanford on Saturday in a 92-72 rout on the road. Closer to home UMBC met St. Peter’s in Jersey City, NJ as coach John Dunne wins his first college game 67-56. Sowell, Orta and Spann dropped in double digits for St. Peter’s with Orta and Spann getting 15 a piece. The Peacocks won it with solid shooting from three point land sinking ten out of twenty tries.