Beamon sparks Jaspers

The Manhattan Jaspers have a good reason to be thankful — George Beamon is back.

The senior swingman made his season debut in the Jaspers’ homeopener last night, scoring 29 points on 10of15 shooting, adding seven rebounds and two steals as Manhattan took down Hofstra, 6756 at Draddy Gymnasium.

MANHATTAN 67 HOFSTRA 56

“We have a very good team, but when he’s in the lineup I think we’re a much different team,” Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said of Beamon, who returned from a mild ankle injury that sidelined him for the season’s first two games. “It’s not just his points. Our mentality, our energy was totally different. It’s a compliment to him the impact he has on these guys. I’m really proud of him.”

It was Manhattan’s (12) second straight season defeating the Pride, while Hofstra (33) had its threegame win streak snapped and remains winless on the road.

“It was just a great night for us,” said Beamon, who was a gametime decision and hadn’t practiced in nearly two weeks. “We needed a win. It was a good way to come out at home. It was just a great feeling.”

After missing Manhattan’s first two games, decisive losses at Louisville and at Harvard, Beamon looked better than ever. The team’s leadingscorer the past two seasons, the Long Island native showed no illeffects from the injury, converting on a backdoor alleyoop, diving on the floor and crashing the boards relentlessly.

As Beamon drew defenders to the perimeter, Jaspers big man Rhamel Brown took advantage on the inside, scoring 15 points on 7of7 shooting, while adding eight rebounds and four blocks. Brown was aggressive in the paint and was a natural complement to Beamon, who was the team’s only doubledigit scorer last season.

“George helps bring a lot of intensity for the team,” Brown said. “The first two games we struggled bringing intensity without him. He’s our natural leader. You could tell the chemistry when he’s on the court is evident.”