By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
March 6, 2018
JENKINTOWN, PA—SUNY-Ulster (16-9) sophomore guard Alex Karamanos led both teams with 30 points as the fifth-seeded Senators defeated the fourth-seeded Manor College Blue Jays (17-11), 105-93, in the Region XIX Division II Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament First Round.
SUNY-Ulster took its largest lead of the first half, 21-6, on freshman guard Elijah Barrett's reverse layup, with an assist by sophomore guard Shawn Jansen, with 12:54 left in the first half. Manor answered with a 14-4 run over the next 4:49 and cut the deficit to 25-20 on sophomore guard Keithantonio Davis' (Sicklerville, NJ/Eastern) layup with 8:05 remaining. After sophomore guard Alex Karamanos' jump shot gave the Senators a 32-22 advantage with 6:49 left, the Blue Jays went on another run. Manor outscored SUNY-Ulster 16-4 over a 3:09 stretch and took a 38-36 lead with 3:40 remaining on another Davis layup. The Blue Jays took another lead, 41-38, on freshman guard Ahrod Carter's (Chester, PA/Chester) three-point basket, with an assist by Davis with 2:34 left. SUNY-Ulster took the lead for good, 42-41, with 1:49 remaining on Karamanos' layup. The Senators also outscored the Blue Jays 9-3 over the final 3:40 of the first half and led, 45-41 at halftime. Manor freshman guard Isaiah Wiggins (Pocono Mountain, PA/Pocono Mountain West) led both teams with 15 points. Karamanos paced SUNY-Ulster with 12 points.
Manor closed the gap to two points twice early in the second half. The Blue Jays got within 47-45 on Davis' put back off of a missed shot with 18:46 left. Davis converted another layup that got Manor within 49-47 with 17:32 remaining. SUNY-Ulster followed up with a 9-2 run over the next 4:05 and took a 58-49 lead with 14:41 remaining on Barnett's jump shot. After Davis made a layup off of a turnover that closed the gap to 60-56 with 13:22 left, the Senators went on an 11-2 run, and opened up a double-digit lead, 71-58, on freshman center Liam Grennan's layup, with an assist by Jansen, with 10:19 remaining. SUNY-Ulster twice took 16-point leads (80-64 and 83-67), its largest of the game. Freshman guard/forward Skylar Rebeor made a layup and Karamanos converted a layup and free throw with 7:18 and 6:57 left, respectively. After another Karamanos layup that gave the Senators an 86-71 edge with 5:53 remaining, the Blue Jays answered. Manor went on a 14-5 run over a 2:24 stretch and got as close as 91-86 with 3:29 remaining on a Davis three-point basket. The Blue Jays got within seven twice more (93-86 and 98-91) on freshman guard Dana Strothers' (Pittsburgh, PA/Obama Academy) free throw and another Davis three-point basket with 3:04 and 2:25 left, respectively. SUNY-Ulster outscored Manor in the second half, 60-52. Karamanos led both teams with 18 points. Strothers paced the Blue Jays with 15 points. Davis (13), Strothers, and Wiggins (13) combined to score 41 of Manor's 52 second-half points.
SUNY-Ulster advances to the Semifinals versus the top-seeded and sixth-ranked (as of the March 6 poll) Lackawanna College Falcons (24-4) in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Friday, March 9.
Individual Statistical Leaders: Wiggins led Manor with 28 points and Davis added 27. Strothers came off the bench and contributed 21 points.
Jansen contributed a "double-double" with 19 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds off the bench. He also paced the Senators with seven assists. Freshman guard Naje Greene scored 14 points and led SUNY-Ulster with three steals. Barnett and freshman center Alex Hanson scored 10 points each off the bench.
Final Game for Three Sophomores: This was the final game for three Manor sophomores: guards Kobe Ancrum (Bridgeport, CT/Bassick) and Davis and forward Antonio Willis (Newark, NJ/Newark). This sophomore class finished with a 37-18 overall record (19-11 Region XIX Division II) and two Region XIX Division II Postseason Tournament appearances.
Manor in the Region XIX Division II Postseason Tournament: Manor is 3-5 overall (1-2 at home) in five NJCAA Region XIX Division II Postseason Tournament appearances.
Series Record: This is the first game between the two schools.
Manor versus Region XV: The Blue Jays are 0-3 overall and this is the first time they hosted a Region XV opponent.
Manor at Home: The Blue Jays finished the season with an 11-4 home record. This the fourth straight season with 10 or more home wins. Manor has posted five consecutive non-losing home seasons and six of its last seven. The 15 home games played are the most since the Blue Jays joined the NJCAA for the 2008-2009 season. They are 44-11 since the 2013-2014 season, including 16-6 versus non-conference schools. The Blue Jays are 24-6 at home (including 10-2 versus non-conference programs) under second-year head coach Diallo Daniels.
Other Manor Statistical Notes: Manor's 28 games played this season tied the 2015-2016 mark for most games played since joining the NJCAA. The Blue Jays also set other team records since joining the NJCAA in points scored (2,492) and per game (89.0). This is the fifth straight season Manor has scored over 2,000 points and averaged over 80.0 per game.