By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
December 8, 2016
JENKINTOWN, PA—Manor College (7-4 Overall, 3-3 NJCAA Region XIX Division II) sophomore guard Kuante Sargent (Baltimore, MD/Newtown) scored 22 points as they defeated Mercer County Community College (1-10, 0-7), 86-72, for its fourth straight win. Fellow sophomore Brendan Wagner (forward) (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) added 20 in the victory.
The Blue Jays and Vikings played a tightly contested first half. Manor took its first of two four-point leads (11-7) on Wagner's layup and free throw with 16:11 in the opening half. This finished off an 11-4 run. Mercer County responded with a 15-2 run of its own during the next 4:14. They took its biggest lead of the first half (22-15) on freshman guard's Jamir Jenkins' three point basket with 11:52 left in the half. The Blue Jays countered with a 9-2 run over the next 5:31 and retook the lead (26-24) on freshman guard Benjamin Pratt's (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) coast-to-coast layup with 6:13 remaining. Manor took its second four-point lead (29-25) of the first half on sophomore guard Calil Moultrie's (Philadelphia, PA/Friere Charter) three-point basket at the top of the key on a Pratt assist with 5:17 left. The Vikings scored nine straight points over the next 2:33 and it was finished off by sophomore guard John Armstead's layup with 2:44 left. Manor briefly took the lead (35-34) on Sargent's steal and slam dunk with 0:52 remaining. The Vikings scored four straight and led at halftime, 38-35. Altogether, the first half featured five ties and six lead changes.
Mercer County twice extended its lead to eight points in the second half. Armstead's layup gave the Vikings 47-39 lead with 16:41 remaining in the second half. Freshman forward Lorenzo Williams' layup and free throw with 16:02 left gave Mercer County a 50-42 lead. Manor scored 13 straight during the next 2:44. Sargent's fadeaway jumper and free throw gave the Blue Jays a 51-50 lead with 14:17 remaining and his steal and his slam dunk with 13:19 left extended the margin to 55-50. The two teams exchanged leads during a 3:31 stretch. Armstead's three-point basket tied the game at 61 with 8:23 remaining, but, Pratt's three-point basket at the "top of the key," with an assist by freshman forward Nijza Faison (Philadelphia, PA/Dobbins) gave the Blue Jays the lead for good with 8:07 left in the game. Mercer County got within a point (64-63) on its next possession on Harris' basket with 7:49 remaining. Wagner's tap in off a miss with 4:52 left finished off a 9-2 run and extended the Blue Jays' lead to 73-65. Following Williams' layup on Mercer County's next possession with 4:33 remaining, Manor went on a 13-3 run over the next 4:07 to finish off Mercer County. Moultrie's layup with 0:26.3 left gave the Blue Jays its biggest lead of the game (86-70). Manor outscored Mercer County, 51-34, in the second half.
In addition to Sargent and Wagner, Nijza Faison came off the bench to score 15 points and Pratt added ten. Sargent has scored 20 or more points nine times. Armstead led Mercer County with 20 points and Harris contributed 16. Jenkins scored 11 and led the team with six assists and six rebounds.
The Blue Jays are 9-9 overall versus the Vikings, including three straight wins. They are 6-3 at home versus Mercer County, including two in a row.
Manor's next game is versus NJCAA Region XX Division II Northern Virginia Community College (3-8) 3:00 p.m. December 10. This is the second game in this series. Manor lost at Northern Virginia on February 13, 2016 (84-75) in its inaugural meeting. The Nighthawks have qualified for the previous four Region XX Division II Postseason Tournaments. The Blue Jays are 4-7 overall and 3-4 at home versus Region XX schools.