Game #4: Le Moyne (1-2) vs. Manhattan (1-2) 
Info: Saturday, Nov. 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena
Watch: NEC Front Row
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: lemoynedolphins.com
Manhattan Links: Schedule | Roster | News


Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's basketball team is at home on Saturday against Manhattan University at 6:00 p.m. at Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins opened its home schedule with a 109-39 win over Elmira on Monday. Ty Francis shot 8-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line en route to his game-high 19 points, while adding four rebounds and three assists. Fourth year forward Trevor Roe also tallied 12 of his 17 points in the first half. Third year guard Khalil Williams and first year forward Connor Johnson each recorded 12 points, while third year guard Jeremy Clayville turned in 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

YEAR #4
The Dolphins are in their fourth year at the Division I level and their first year with full Division I membership. The Dolphins went 15-17 in their first season at the Division I level, including 9-7 in NEC action to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins went 9-23 in their second year, including 4-12 in NEC play, and was the eighth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins went 15-17 again last year, including 10-8 in the NEC to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament for the second time in three years.

SERIES HISTORY
The Dolphins and Jaspers are meeting on the hardwood for the eighth time and for the first time at Ted Grant Court. The Dolphins won the most recent matchup, 81-77, on November 29, 2024 in Riverdale, while Manhattan won each of the first six contests, all of which were held in Syracuse.

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Dolphins and Jaspers have five common opponents this year, Maine, Saint Peter's, Fairfield, Wagner and Niagara. The Dolphins take on Maine on November 27 at the Lafayette Classic and face Niagara the following day, visit Fairfield on December 13, Saint Peter's on December 18 and Wagner on January 16 before hosting Wagner on February 25. The Jaspers defeated Maine on Sunday, host Saint Peter's on December 2 and visit the Peacocks on February 21, visit Fairfield on December 4, visit Wagner on December 17 and host Niagara on January 29.

JESUIT CONNECTION
The Dolphins face three fellow Jesuit institutions this season. They faced Creighton University on November 5, visit Fairfield University on December 13 and head to St. Peter's University on December 18.

WELCOME BACK
The Dolphins feature two returning letterwinners. Trevor Roe is in his fourth year of eligibility and third year as a Dolphin and Josiah Lee is in his second year of eligibility.
 
NEW FACES
The Dolphins welcomed 13 new players to the program for 2026-27. Jayden Teat is in his fourth year of eligibility after two years at Utah and a year at Sacramento State; Khalil Williams (Bryant), Isaiah Brown (Mount Vernon Nazarene), Jeremy Clayville (Saint Francis/NJIT), Kaden Stuckey (VMI) and Kole Williams (Florida International/Kilgore College) are third years and Damien King (UT Martin), Przemek Hartman (Louisiana-Monroe), Ty Francis (Northeastern) and Cullen Schreiner (Georgia Southern) are second years, while Leandro Gysel, Connor Johnson and Hunter Frazier are freshmen.

NEC PRESEASON POLL
In the NEC preseason coaches' poll, the Dolphins tied for third place, the same position they finished last year. LIU, which won the regular season and tournament championship last year, earned seven of the nine first-place votes to win the league, while tournament runner-up Mercyhurst University landed second in the preseason coaches poll. Central Connecticut State tied the Dolphins for third. Wagner College, which fell to LIU in the semifinals, landed fifth. FDU, last year's sixth seed, and Stonehill College, which upset the Dolphins in the first round, tied for sixth place. Chicago State University finished in eighth place and the University of New Haven, which is eligible for the conference tournament this year, rounded out the poll in ninth.

COACH CHAMP
Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion '14 is the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I this season for the second consecutive year following back-to-back years as the second-youngest, celebrating his 35th birthday in early December. Darion Brown (30) at Nicholls is the youngest after taking over for last year's youngest, Tevon Saddler, while Evan Bradds (Belmont) is 32, Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern) and Zach Chu (Radford) are 33 and Ronnie Thomas (Longwood) is 34. In his first six seasons leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted an 85-96 record and led the Dolphins to the conference tournament each season and the 2020 NCAA Tournament (canceled prior to first game due to COVID pandemic). Champion served as an assistant coach at fellow NEC member Stonehill during the 2016-17 season.

FIRST WINS
The Dolphins earned their first win as a Division I program on November 13, 2023 over Division III SUNY Canton, 105-46. They claimed their first victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on November 21, 2023 at CSUN, 80-70. They collected their first home victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on December 16, 2023 over Dartmouth College, 80-54. The 'Phins earned their first NEC victory on January 6, 2024 at FDU, 74-63, and collected their first Division I conference tournament win two months to the day later, 82-61, over the same Knights.

SCOUTING MANHATTAN
The Jaspers are led by fourth-year head coach John Gallagher.

Manhattan returned six players, who combined to score 5.8% of the team's points, from its 2025-26 team, which went 12-20, including 8-12 in conference play, while adding three first years and nine transfers.

The Jaspers opened the season with losses to Kentucky and UAlbany before defeating Maine on Sunday. Novak Manojlovic scored 23 points in the first two games, while Ben Pearce has 34 points (11.3/game) through the three contests. Ognjen Stankovic leads the team with 22 rebounds (7.3/game).
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Le Moyne are back in action on Tuesday at the University of Evansville at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT.