By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
February 20, 2024
ENOLA, PA—United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Manor College (11-5, 5-1 Eastern States Athletic Conference) freshman guard Manny Roach (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) and junior guard Namir Simmons (Philadelphia, PA/Academy Park) scored 22 points apiece as the fifth-ranked Blue Jays overcame multiple double-digit deficits to defeat the Division II Central Pennsylvania College Knights (8-17, 4-3), 94-92, at East Pennsboro High School.
Manor and Central Pennsylvania exchanged multiple leads for over the first four minutes of the first half. After senior guard Eddie Fortescue Jr's (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon) layup gave the Blue Jays a 9-8 lead with 15:33 left, the Knights answered and scored 22 straight points between 15:24 and 10:03 (a 5:21 stretch), and led 30-9 on a junior guard/forward Quadere Allen jump shot. Central Pennsylvania led by 41-16 on a sophomore forward Riley Young layup with 6:32 remaining. Manor finished the remaining 6:21 on a 24-9 run. The Knights led at halftime, 50-40. Junior forward Jordan Strickland led both teams with 16 points. Allen added 14 for the Knights. Roach paced Manor with 13 points.
Manor continued to cut into Central Pennsylvania's lead in the second half. The Blue Jays got within two, 54-52, on Simmons' layup with 17:26 left. They got within one, 58-57, sophomore forward Cheikh Diagne's (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) layup with 14:04 remaining. This was part of a 17-8 run between 19:33 and 14:04 (a 5:19 stretch). Altogether, Manor went on a 41-17 run between 6:21 of the first half and 14:04 of the second (an 11:40 stretch). After Strickland's layup gave Central Pennsylvania a 65-58 lead with 11:02 left, the Blue Jays scored eight straight points between 10:56 and 9:38 (a 1:18 stretch), and took its first lead, 66-65, on a freshman forward Deacon Linder (Philadelphia, PA/Hardy Williams Academy [Mastery]) layup. It was Manor's first lead since the early in the game, 5-3, with 18:15 remaining (a 28:40 span). The Blue Jays and Knights exchanged leads multiple times between 8:28 and 3:08 (a 5:20 stretch). Central Pennsylvania took its last lead, 77-75, on Strickland's jump shot with 3:29 left. Manor took the lead for good, 78-77, on Roach's three-point basket with 3:08 remaining. Manor outscored Central Pennsylvania in the second half, 50-30. This is the sixth time this season overall (third time on the road and at neutral sites) that they have scored 50 or more second-half points. Simmons led both teams with 16 points. Roach and Fortescue Jr contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Blue Jays. Freshman guard Darius Wallace led Central Pennsylvania with 11 points and Strickland added 10 for the Knights.
The last time the Blue Jays won after trailing by double-digits at halftime was on January 22, 2022 when they were trailing Division II Berkeley College (New York), 53-42, and won, 87-86, at home. The last time they won after trailing by double-digits on the road was on February 2, 2019 when they were NJCAA Region XIX Division II members. They trailed 39-28 versus the Raritan Valley Community College Lions, 39-28, and won, 71-68.
Manor's victory versus Central Pennsylvania broke a two-game overall series losing streak. They last defeated the Knights on December 13, 2022, 93-85, at Manor. The Blue Jays won on road versus the Knight for the first time since January 15, 2008 (82-68) when they were Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference (EPCC) members. This win broke a two-game road series losing streak versus Central Pennsylvania.
Manor's 11 wins are the most since they joined the USCAA, surpassing 10 in their debut season in 2021-2022. This the most wins since they won 12 during the 2019-2020 season when they were NJCAA Region XIX Division II members.
Statistical Leaders: In addition to Roach and Simmons, Diagne scored 18 and Fortescue Jr contributed 13 points. Simmons had his second straight "double-double" with 22 points and led Manor with 11 rebounds. Roach paced the Blue Jays with four steals.
Strickland led both teams with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Wallace contributed 20 points and paced both teams with five steals. Allen added 16 points. Junior guard Rodney Ross scored 10 points and shared the Knight lead with six assists with junior guard Anthony McClinton, who was coming off the bench.
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Scoring Leaders (including ties): Roach (8), Simmons (7), Diagne (1), and Fortescue Jr (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Rebounding Leaders (including ties): Fortescue Jr (4), junior forward Jarid Vertil (Willingboro, NJ/Rahway) (4), Diagne (3), Roach (3), Simmons (3), sophomore forward Idris Holman (Philadelphia, PA/Mercy Vocational Technical) (1), and Cristeph Lamothe (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Assists Leaders (including ties): Simmons (13), Roach (4), Diagne (3), Fortescue Jr (2), and Vertil (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Steals Leaders (including ties): Roach (6), Simmons (6), Fortescue Jr (4), Diagne (1), and junior guard Shyere Mayhue (Philadelphia, PA/People for People Charter) (1).
Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Scoring Leaders: Roach (15), Simmons (15), Fortescue Jr (14), Vertil (11), Diagne (9), Linder (2), and freshman guard Steven Latimer (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) (1).
Manor 2023-2024 20-Point Games Leaders: Simmons (8), Roach (7), and Fortescue Jr (4).
Manor 2023-2024 30-Point Games Leaders: Roach (2).
Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Rebounding Leaders: Diagne (1), Holman (1), Roach (1), Simmons (1), and Vertil (1).
Manor 2023-2024 "Double-Double" (Points and Rebounds) Leaders: Diagne (1), Roach (1), Simmons (1), and Vertil (1).
Manor 2023-2024 "Double-Double" (Points and Assists) Leaders: Simmons (1).
Season Series (Since 1994-1995): Manor leads the season series, 26-5 overall (13-4 on the road and at neutral sites) since 1994-1995 (2001-2002 season unavailable).
Manor Trailing at Halftime (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 3-2 overall (2-0 at on the road) when they are trailing at halftime this season. Manor has won seven times overall when leading at halftime since joining the USCAA for the 2021-2022 season.
Manor Scoring 80 Points in a Game (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 4-1 this season (1-0 on the road) and 11-4 overall (2-2 on the road) when they score 80 to 89 points in a game since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor on the Road: The Blue Jays are 4-0 this season on the road and are 8-8 since the 2021-2022 season. This is the most road wins in a season since the 2019-2020 season (five) when they were NJCAA Region XIX Division II members.
Manor Versus USCAA Division II Schools (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 6-3 this season (3-0 on the road) and 14-13 overall (7-9 on the road/at neutral sites) versus USCAA Division II schools since the 2021-2022 season.
Manor as a Nationally-Ranked Team (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 8-3 overall (5-0 on the road/at neutral sites) as a Nationally-Ranked team this season. They are 13-5 overall (8-1 on the road/at neutral sites) since joining the USCAA.
Manor's Statistical Improvements from the 2022-2023 Season: The Blue Jays statistically improved from the 2022-2023 season in the following offensive categories - Points per game (88.3) (+11.0), overall field goal percentage (43.5) (+3.0), assists per game (16.4) (+0.9), steals per game (12.1) (+1.5), and blocked shots per game (3.5) (+0.9). They also improved their free throw percentage by 3.2 and three-point field goal percentage by 1.7 compared to the 2022-2023 season. Manor also committed 6.5 fewer turnovers per game compared to last season. Defensively, the Blue Jays allowed 4.0 fewer points per game compared to the 2022-2023 season.
Next Game: Manor travels to play the USCAA Division II Christendom College Crusaders (11-10, 5-2 as of February 20) on Saturday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. in Fort Royal, Virginia. The Blue Jays defeated the Crusaders in its inaugural match-up, 102-83, on December 15, 2023, at Manor.
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Twitter: @manorbluejays.
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