By Steven M. Glassman

Director of Sports Information

February 27, 2024

JENKINTOWN, PA—United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Manor College (12-6, 6-2 Eastern States Athletic Conference) freshman guard Manny Roach (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) scored 27 points and junior guard Namir Simmons (Philadelphia, PA/Academy Park) added 23 as the sixth-ranked Blue Jays defeated the Division II Bucks County Community College Centurions (10-18, 3-5), 102-100, on Senior Night.

This game was rescheduled from January 18 and February 13.

Senior guard Eddie Fortescue Jr (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon) was recognized for his athletic and academic achievements by Manor Head Men's Basketball Coach Leo Mahon before the start of the game. 

Manor scored the game's first nine points after Roach made a layup with 18:08 left in the first half.  Bucks County responded, going on a 15-2 run between 17:51 and 14:44 (a 3:07 stretch), and took its first lead of the game, 15-13, on sophomore forward/center Jaquis Heath's three-point basket. After Simmons' layup gave the Blue Jay a 17-15 lead with 14:01 remaining, the Centurions answered with a 12-4 run between 13:45 and 8:59 (a 3:46 stretch), and took its largest first half lead, 27-21, on freshman guard Jasier Carter's jump shot. Bucks County took the lead for the remainder of the first half, 37-35, on freshman forward Matt Jarek's layup with 3:25 left.  The Centurions led at halftime, 48-44.  Heath led both teams with 14 points.  Sophomore guard Luis Rodriguez added 10 points for the Centurions.  Roach paced Manor with 12 points.  There were six ties and five first-half lead changes.

Manor and Bucks County exchanged multiple leads within the first four minutes of the second half.  After freshman guard Elijah Bryant's layup gave the Centurions a 59-56 lead with 15:47 left, the Blue Jays scored ten straight points between 15:38 and 14:21 (a 1:17 stretch), and took a 66-59 lead on a sophomore forward Cheikh Diagne (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) three-point basket.  Bucks County answered again, going on a 11-2 run between 13:54 and 12:19 (a 1:35 stretch), and took a 70-68 lead on Heath's three-point basket.  Following Bryant's layup with 11:44 left, Manor scored 11 straight points between 10:22 and 8:05 (a 2:17 stretch), and took an 82-74 lead on freshman forward Deacon Linder's (Philadelphia, PA/Hardy Williams Academy [Mastery]) layup. The Blue Jays took the lead for good within this run, 77-74, on Roach's three-point basket with 10:01 remaining.  Manor took its largest lead, 97-84, on sophomore forward Bryce Nwobu's (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) layup with 2:21 left.  Bucks County followed with a 16-4 run between 1:46 and 0:02.8 (a 1:43 stretch) and closed the gap to 101-100 on Bryant's three-point basket.  Carter's three-point attempt at the buzzer missed. The Blue Jays outscored the Centurions in the second half, 58-52.  This is the sixth time this season overall (fourth at home) that they have scored 50 or more second-half points.  The 58 second-half points they scored are tied for the second-most in the second half this season.  Simmons led both teams with 17 points.  Roach added 15 points for the Blue Jays.  Bryant paced Bucks County with 14 points.  Heath contributed 13 points for the Centurions and Carter led both benches with 11 second-half points.  There were three ties and nine second-half lead changes.

Altogether, there were nine ties and 14 lead changes for the game.

Manor swept Bucks County for the first time as a USCAA member.  The Blue Jays previously swept the Centurions during the 2007-2008 season when both schools were Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference (EPCC) members.

This was the Blue Jays' first home win versus the Centurions as a USCAA member.  Manor previously defeated Bucks County at home, 89-80, on February 8, 2020 when both schools were National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIX Division II members.

This was Manor's and Bucks County's final regular season and ESAC game.

Statistical Leaders: In addition to Roach and Simmons, Fortescue Jr and Diagne, scored 17 and 13 points, respectively.  Roach led Manor with three steals and shared the team lead with Fortescue Jr with five assists. Nwobu came off the bench and paced the Blue Jays with nine rebounds.

Heath led Bucks County with 27 points. Bryant and Rodriguez scored 18 points each for the Centurions.  Carter led both benches with 17 points.

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Scoring Leaders (including ties): Roach (9), Simmons (7), Diagne (2), and Fortescue Jr (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Rebounding Leaders (including ties): Diagne (4), Fortescue Jr (4), junior forward Jarid Vertil (Willingboro, NJ/Rahway) (4), Roach (3), Simmons (3), sophomore forward Idris Holman (Philadelphia, PA/Mercy Vocational Technical) (1), Nwobu (1), and Cristeph Lamothe (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Assists Leaders (including ties): Simmons (14), Roach (5), Diagne (4), Fortescue Jr (3), and Vertil (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Single-Game Steals Leaders (including ties): Roach (8), Simmons (7), Fortescue Jr (4), junior guard Shyere Mayhue (Philadelphia, PA/People for People Charter) (2), and Diagne (1).

Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Scoring Leaders: Roach (17), Simmons (16), Fortescue Jr (15), Diagne (11), Vertil (11), Linder (2), freshman guard Steven Latimer (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) (1), and Mayhue (1).

Manor 2023-2024 20-Point Games Leaders: Simmons (9), Roach (8), and Fortescue Jr (4).

Manor 2023-2024 30-Point Games Leaders: Roach (2).

Manor 2023-2024 Double-Figure Rebounding Leaders: Diagne (2), Holman (1), Roach (1), Simmons (1), and Vertil (1).

Manor 2023-2024 "Double-Double" (Points and Rebounds) Leaders: Diagne (2), 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, 19-10 overall (10-4 at home) since 1994-1995 (2001-2002 season unavailable). 

Manor Trailing at Halftime (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 4-2 overall (2-2 at home) when they are trailing at halftime this season.  Manor has won eight times overall (seven at home) when trailing at halftime since joining the USCAA. 

Manor Scoring 100 or More Points (Since 2021-2022): Manor are 3-0 overall (3-0 at home) when they score 100 or more points this season.  They are 4-2 overall (4-1 at home) when they score 100 or more points since the 2021-2022 season.

Final 2023-2024 ESAC Men's Basketball Regular Season Standings: Christendom College (6-2), Manor (6-2), Central Pennsylvania College (4-4), Bucks County (3-5), and Williamson College of the Trades (1-7).

Manor Versus the ESAC (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 10-9 overall (5-3 at home) versus the ESAC since the 2021-2022 season.

Manor at Home: The Blue Jays finished the regular season 6-3 at home and are 14-7 since the 2021-2022 season. The six home wins in a season surpassed their USCAA 2021-2022 season total (five).  The six home wins are the most since the 2019-2020 season (seven) when they were in NJCAA Region XIX Division II.

Manor Versus USCAA Division II Schools (Since 2021-2022): The Blue Jays are 7-4 this season (4-3 at home) and 15-14 overall (8-4 at home) versus USCAA Division II schools since the 2021-2022 season.

Manor as a Nationally-Ranked Team (Since 2021-2022): Manor is 9-4 overall (4-3 on the road/at neutral sites) as a Nationally-Ranked team this season.  They are 14-6 overall (6-4 on the road/at neutral sites) since joining the USCAA.

Next Game: Manor awaits the USCAA Small College National Championship Tournament bid announcement on Monday, March 4 at 1:15 p.m.  The National Championship Tournament will be at Virginia State University (NCAA Division II) and Richard Bland College of William and Mary (NJCAA Region X Division II) in Petersburg, Virginia from Saturday March 9 through Tuesday, March 13.

Manor Athletics on Social Media:

Instagram: manor_athletics.

Twitter: @manorbluejays.

#manorbluejays

#ManorStrong