By Steven M. Glassman

Director of Sports Information

November 11, 2023

JENKINTOWN, PA—United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Manor College (1-0) junior guard Namir Simmons (Philadelphia, PA/Academy Park) led both teams with 21 points as the Blue Jays routed the Patrick Henry College Sentinels (0-1), 115-55, in its regular season and home opener.

Junior forward Jared Vertil's (Willingboro.NJ/Rahway) jump shot gave Manor the lead for good, 5-3, with 18:53 left in the first half.  Patrick Henry got as close as two points twice (9-7 and 11-9) on sophomore forward Andrew Penrod's jump shot with 14:55 left and sophomore guard Nate Semlick's free throws with 13:46 remaining.  After Penrod's jump shot with 13:23 left closed the deficit to 14-11, the Blue Jays responded with a 17-2 run over the next 2:49 and opened up a 31-13 lead on freshman guard Manny Roach's (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) three-point basket with 10:34 remaining.  During this run, Manor opened up its first double-digit lead (23-11) on sophomore forward Cheikh Diagne's (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) three-point basket with 12:14 left and would remain there for the rest of the game. Following junior guard Chris Ziemnick's free throw with 10:04 remaining, the Blue Jays scored 14 straight points over the next 4:20 and opened up its largest lead at this point in the game (45-14) freshman forward Deacon Linder (Philadelphia, PA/Hardy Williams Academy [Mastery]) made a layup with 5:43 left. Manor maintained a 30-plus point lead for the remainder of the half.  The Blue Jays had its largest first half lead (62-25) when freshman forward Zion Thomas (Philadelphia, PA/Maritime Academy Charter) made a layup before the buzzer sounded at the end of the half.  Manor led at 62-25.  The 62 first-half points are the most since they scored 50 versus Patrick Henry on January 21, 2023. The 25 points first-half allowed are the fewest since they allowed 17 versus the Williamson College of the Trades on January 26, 2023. The 35-point halftime lead is the highest since they were leading by 38 points versus Essex County College on December 16, 2017 when the Blue Jays in NJCAA Division II.  Linder led both teams with 13 points.

Manor went on a 16-2 run between 19:15 and 15:48 remaining in the second half (3:27) and increased its lead to 78-29.  The Blue Jays went on a 17-2 run between 13:09 and 8:20 left (4:09) and increased its lead to 97-41. Manor had its largest lead of the game, 113-52, on Roach's jump shot with 2:03 remaining.  The Blue Jays outscored the Sentinels in the second half, 53-30.  The 53-second half points are the most since they scored 55 versus Patrick Henry on January 21, 2023.  Simmons led both teams with 15 points. Ziemnick led the Sentinels with 10 second-half points.

The 60-point win is the largest win overall for the Blue Jays since they joined the USCAA when they defeated the Sentinels at home, 105-70, on January 21, 2023. This is the largest margin of victory in a home opener since they won by 38 versus Cumberland County College (now Rowan College South Jersey-Cumberland) (99-61) on November 5, 2016. This is the largest overall and home victory since they defeated Essex County College, 108-48, on December 16, 2017. The 115 points scored overall are the most since they joined the USCAA and the most since they scored 120 at home versus Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (120-90) on November 7, 2017. They last scored 100 or more points in a regular season and home opener on November 7, 2015 when they defeated the County College of Morris at home, 100-72.

Statistical Leaders: In addition to Simmons, Linder scored 17.  Roach and Diagne contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman guard Steven Latimer (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) and senior guard Eddie Fortescue Jr. (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon) came off the bench and added 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Ziemnick led Patrick Henry with 19 points and Penrod scored 12.

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Scoring Leaders (including ties): Simmons (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Rebounding Leaders (including ties): Freshman center Cristeph Lamothe (Philadelphia, PA/Camelot Excel Academy) (1) and Roach (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Assists Leaders (including ties): Simmons (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Steals Leaders (including ties): Simmons (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Scoring Leaders: Diagne (1), Fortescue Jr (1), Latimer (1), Linder (1), Roach (1), and Simmons (1).

Manor 2023-2024 20-Point Games Leaders: Simmons (1).

Manor 2023-2024 30-Point Games Leaders: None.

Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Rebounding Leaders: None.

Manor 2023-2024 "Double-Double" (Points and Rebounds) Leaders: None.

Season Series (Since 1994-1995): The Blue Jays lead the season series, 2-0 (2-0 at home).

Manor in Regular Season Openers (Since 1994-1995): Manor is 15-13 overall (7-4 at home) in season openers.  Please note that the 2001-2002 season information is unavailable.

Manor in Home Openers (Since 1994-1995): The Blue Jays are 18-10 in home openers since the 1994-1995 season (2001-2002 is unavailable). 

Manor in 100-point Games (Since 2021-2022): This is the fourth time the Blue Jays scored 100 or more points since they joined the USCAA for the 2021-2022 season.  They are 2-2 overall (2-1 at home) in these games.

Next Game: Manor hosts NCAA Division III University of Valley Forge (0-4) on Wednesday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

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Twitter: @manorbluejays.

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