By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
February 8, 2024
JENKINTOWN, PA—United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Manor College (9-5) freshman guardManny Roach (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) led the Blue Jays with 21 points as the fifth-ranked Blue Jays defeated the Division II Villa Maria College Vikings (10-13), 91-86.
Villa Maria took its first lead of the game, 5-3, on junior forward Santi Manero's jump shot with 18:52 left in the first half. The Vikings led by 26-16 with 11:14 remaining on senior forward Nolan Shephard's layup. Manor responded and took its first lead of the game, 30-29, on a sophomore forwardCheikh Diagne's (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) layup with 5:24 left. This was part of a 19-3 run from 11:00 to 4:15 (a 7:45 stretch) and led 35-29 on senior guardEddie Fortescue Jr's (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon) three-point basket. Manor led at halftime, 44-39. Roach led Manor with 13 points. Diagne and Fortescue Jr scored 11 points each for the Blue Jays.
Manor led for over the first six minutes in the second half. Villa Maria led three times (57-55, 59-57, and 61-59) in the second on Shephard's free throws (11:30) and junior guard Juston Johnson's (9:14 and 8:54) jump shot and free throws, respectively. The Blue Jays retook the lead, 63-61 with 8:27 left on junior guardNamir Simmons' (Philadelphia, PA/Academy Park) jump shot. This was part of a Manor 10-2 run between 8:47 and 6:48 (a 1:59 stretch) and led 69-62 on Simmons' layup. The Blue Jays led 75-67 with 3:44 on Roach's free throw. This concluded a 16-6 run between 9:00 and 3:44 (a 5:16 stretch). The Vikings finished regulation on a 12-4 run in 2:05 (between 3:17 and 0:12.6) and tied the game at 79 on Johnson's three-point basket. Villa Maria outscored Manor in the second half, 40-35. Johnson led both teams with 16 points. Simmons paced Manor with 10 points.
Villa Maria led 84-81 with 2:50 left in overtime on a Johnson free throw. Simmons' layup with 1:51 left gave Manor the lead for good, 86-84. This was part of a Blue Jay 10-2 in the final 2:35 of overtime. Manor outscored Villa Maria in overtime, 12-7. Shepherd and junior forwardJarid Vertil (Willingboro, NJ/Rahway) led both teams with five points apiece.
This was Manor's final non-conference regular season game.
Statistical Leaders: In addition to Roach, Simmons scored 16 points and led Manor with seven assists, four steals, and two blocked shots. Diagne and Fortescue Jr scored 18 points apiece. Fortescue Jr paced the Blue Jays with eight rebounds. Vertil contributed 14 points for Manor.
Johnson led Villa Maria with 24 points and Shephard scored 20. Sophomore forward Taron Benton added 12 for the Vikings. Senior forward Master Radford led both benches with 15 points.
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Scoring Leaders (including ties): Roach (7), Simmons (6), and Diagne (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Rebounding Leaders (including ties): Fortescue Jr (4), Vertil (4), Diagne (3), Roach (2), Simmons (2), sophomore forwardIdris Holman (Philadelphia, PA/Mercy Vocational Technical) (1), and Cristeph Lamothe (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Assists Leaders (including ties): Simmons (11), Roach (4), Diagne (3), and Fortescue Jr (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Steals Leaders (including ties): Roach (5), Simmons (5), Fortescue Jr (4), Diagne (1), and junior guardShyere Mayhue (Philadelphia, PA/People for People Charter) (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Scoring Leaders: Roach (13), Simmons (13), Fortescue Jr (12), Vertil (10), Diagne (7), freshman forwardDeacon Linder (Philadelphia, PA/Hardy Williams Academy [Mastery]) (2), and freshman guardSteven Latimer (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) (1).
Manor 2023-2024 20-Point Games Leaders: Simmons (7), Roach (5), and Fortescue Jr (3).
Manor 2023-2024 30-Point Games Leaders: Roach (2).
Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Rebounding Leaders: Diagne (1), Holman (1), Roach (1), and Vertil (1).
Manor 2023-2024 "Double-Double" (Points and Rebounds) Leaders: Diagne (1), Roach (1), and Vertil (1).
Season Series (Since 1994-1995): This was the first match-up between the two schools.
Manor Leading at Halftime (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 7-3 overall (4-2 at home) when they are leading at halftime this season. Manor is 19-5 overall (11-4 at home) when leading at halftime since joining the USCAA.
Manor Versus USCAA Division II Schools (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 12-13 overall (7-4 at home) versus USCAA Division II schools since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor Versus the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 3-2 overall (2-1 at home) versus the HVIAC since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor Versus Non-Eastern States Athletic Conference Schools (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 16-15 overall (9-5 at home) versus non-ESAC schools since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor as a Nationally-Ranked Team (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 6-3 overall (3-3 at home) as a Nationally-Ranked team this season. They are 11-5 overall (5-4 at home) since joining the USCAA.
Manor Scoring 90 Points in a Game (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 3-4 overall (3-4 at home) when they score 90 to 99 points in a game since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor in Overtime (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 3-2 overall (2-1 at home) in overtime since the 2021-2022 season.
Next Game: The Blue Jays host the USCAA Division II Bucks County County Community College in its final regular season home game on Senior Night on Tuesday, February 15 at 6:00 p.m. in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. This game is rescheduled from January 18. Manor leads the season series, 17-10 overall (9-4 at home) since 1994-1995 (2001-2002 season unavailable). The Blue Jays have lost five straight contests overall and seven of its last eight versus the Centurions. Bucks County swept the 2022-2023 season series, 103-87 (at Bucks County) on November 19, 2022 and 100-88 (at Manor) on February 16, 2023. Manor last defeated Bucks County, 89-80, on February 8, 2020 when both schools were NJCAA Region XIX Division II.
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Twitter:@manorbluejays.
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