Sophomore guard Dion Waiters netted a game-best 17 points Monday night to help the Syracuse University men's basketball program clobber Manhattan University, 92-56, in the first round of the NIT Tipoff Tournament held at the Carrier Dome. In front of 17,284 fans, the Orange (2-0), No. 5 in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls, advanced to Tuesday's East Regional final where they will play the University at Albany, which defeated Brown University,77-68, in an earlier contest in Syracuse. The winner of the finals moves on to the tournament's semifinal round, which will be held Nov. 23-25 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
Senior forward Kris Joseph scored 15 points to help surpass the 1,000-point mark for his career, while teammate, junior forward James Southerland, added 15 points and six rebounds.
The Jaspers (1-1) were led by senior Kindani Brutus scored a team-best 15 points, while junior guard George Beamon posted 14 points.
Syracuse, which led 52-26 at halftime, tallied 10 blocks, 15 steals and forced 28 Manahttan turnovers. The Orange's largest advantage came with 1:52 to go in the game when they led 92-52.