By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
December 2, 2017
JENKINTOWN, PA—Manor College (7-3 Overall, 2-0 Region XIX Division II) sophomore guard Keithantonio Davis (Sicklerville, NJ/Eastern) came off the bench and scored of 18 of his 19 points in the second half as the Blue Jays defeated the Lackawanna College Falcons (6-1, 5-1), 81-74.
After Falcons sophomore forward Jonathan Williams sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at seven with 14:42 remaining in the opening half, Blue Jays freshman guard Dana Strothers (Pittsburgh, PA/Obama Academy) three-point basket on its next possession with 14:27 left gave Manor the lead for good (10-7). Strothers' three-point basket began a 12-0 run over the next 3:21 and opened up a 19-7 lead with 11:06 remaining. Freshman forward Anthony Thomas (Chester, PA/Chester) finished off the run with a basket. The Blue Jays opened up its largest lead of the first half (26-8) on freshman guard Ahrod Carter's (Chester, PA/Chester) jump shot with 8:42 left. This finished off a 19-1 run over a 5:45 stretch. Lackawanna answered and went on a 12-5 run over the next 2:54 and closed the gap to 31-20 on freshman guard's Kenyon Smith's dunk with 5:48 remaining. The Falcons got close again, 36-26, on freshman guard Alphonso Gee's layup with 3:33 left. Manor led at halftime, 43-31. Thomas and freshman guard/forward Amir Hill (Philadelphia, PA/Parkway) scored 10 points each for the Blue Jays in the first half.
After Lackawanna narrowed the gap to 51-43 with 15:01 remaining, Manor responded by scoring 12 straight points over the next 5:03, and took its largest lead of the game, 63-43. Davis' layup with 7:12 left in the second half gave the Blue Jays a 68-49 advantage. The Falcons answered again and went on a 21-3 run in the next 4:14, and closed the deficit to 71-70 with 2:58 remaining on Gee's layup. Following a full time out called by Manor with 2:48 left, Davis made a layup at the 2:34 mark and he then scored six more on free throws. Altogether, Davis scored eight straight Blue Jay points over a 2:31 stretch and expanded the team's lead to 79-70 with 0:13.1 remaining. Both teams exchanged dunks to complete the scoring. Lackawanna outscored Manor in the second half 43-38, but, the Blue Jays prevailed, 81-74.
Individual Statistical Leaders: Davis led both teams with six assists and was 13-16 from the free throw line. Strothers came off the bench and scored 13 points. Thomas contributed a "double-double" with 12 points and paced both squads with 12 rebounds. Hill added 12 points.
Defensively, Manor held Lackawanna to 32.3% shooting from the field and forced 24 Falcon turnovers.
Gee led both teams with 23 points off the bench. He was 11-13 from the free throw line. Freshman guards Ransford Agyeman and Keyon Faulkner-Smith scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Williams added a "double-double" with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He and sophomore guard Stevan Rodriguez paced both teams with four steals. Rodriguez also led both teams with three blocked shots.
Series Record: The Falcons lead the season series 14-6, but, the Blue Jays have won six of the last nine. Manor is 5-5 at home versus Lackawanna and has won five straight home contests against the Falcons.
Next Game: Manor hosts Delaware Technical Community College-Stanton (5-9 Overall, 2-4 Region XIX Division II) 7:00 p.m. Thursday, December 7. The Spirit lead the season series 11-7 overall, but the Blue Jays have won five straight match-ups. Manor is 4-5 at home versus Delaware Technical Community College-Stanton, including three consecutive victories. The Blue Jays swept the Spirit during the 2016-2017 season. Manor won on the road, 76-73, on November 10, 2016 and at home, 102-81, on February 23, 2017.