By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
December 10, 2016
JENKINTOWN, PA—Manor College (8-4) sophomore guard Kuante Sargent (Baltimore, MD/Newtown) scored a career-best 43 points as they defeated Northern Virginia Community College (3-9), 98-84, for its fifth straight win. The Blue Jays twice won five consecutive games in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons.
The Blue Jays stormed out to a 15-0 lead in the first 2:29 of the game. Sargent scored nine of Manor's first 15 points and 11 of the first 19. The Blue Jays held the Nighthawks without a field goal until freshman guard/forward Emmanuel Miller hit a jump shot with 16:45 in the first half. Miller's free throws got Northern Virginia within seven points (30-23) with 9:08 left in first half. After Nighthawks' freshman forward Jordan Jones' free throws with 8:09 remaining in the half got them to eight points behind (33-25), the Blue Jays scored eight straight in less than a minute. Northern Virginia responded with a 12-3 run over the next 5:41 and trimmed the deficit to 44-40 with 1:10 left in the first half. Freshman guard Dequincy Reed (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge) accounted for Manor's only points with a three-point field goal with 4:17 left. The run was capped off by Northern Virginia sophomore forward Addison Burgess three-point basket (with an assist by sophomore guard/forward Tariq Felder) with 1:10 remaining in the half. The Blue Jays led at halftime, 47-42. Sargent led both teams with 21 points while Burgess paced Northern Virginia with 17.
Northern Virginia got within two points three times (49-47, 54-52, and 56-54) before taking its only lead of the game (57-56) on sophomore guard Wesley Hardaway sank a three-point basket with 14:30 left in the game. Sargent's basket on Manor's next possession gave them the lead for good (58-57) with 14:14 remaining. This began an 8-2 run over the next 3:24 and opened up and eight-point lead (68-60). Sargent's three-point basket with 9:56 left began an 11-1 run over the next 2:48 and extended the margin to 15 points, 79-64. The run was capped off by a Sargent slam dunk with an assist by sophomore forward Jordan Lomax (Hartford, CT/Career Magnet) with 7:08 remaining. Between 14:30 and 5:10 left of the second half, the Blue Jays held the Nighthawks to one field goal (Felder's layup on an assist by freshman guard Andre Seady with 11:50 remaining). After Sargent jumper gave the Blue Jays an 83-69 lead with 5:28 left, the Nighthawks scored eight straight points over the next 1:18. Burgess' three-point basket on an inbounds play closed the gap to 83-77 with 4:10 remaining in the game. Manor responded and went on a 13-4 run over the next 3:46 and expanded to a double-digit lead. Altogether, the Blue Jays held the Nighthawks to three field goals over the final 4:10 of the game. The run was finished off by a pair of sophomore forward Robby Pierre (Irvington, NJ/Union Catholic) free throws with 0:24.7 left in the contest. His free throws also gave Manor its largest lead for the second time in the game (96-81). The Blue Jays outscored the Nighthawks, 52-41. Sargent led both teams with 22 points in the second half.
Coming off the bench, Pierre came off the bench to score 19 points and sophomore guard Calil Moultrie (Philadelphia, PA/Friere Charter) added 13 and six assists. Sargent has scored 20 or more points in 11 straight games and in double-figures in all 12 games this season. He has scored in double-figures in 18 of 20 career games. Lomax contributed 10 points and pulled down a team-leading and personal season-best 14 rebounds. This is also his first "double-double" in points and rebounds this season and his fourth career. Manor tied a season-best with 12 three-point baskets made in a game (also versus Cumberland County College on November 5, 2016). They have also scored 90 or more points in four of its last five games and seven times overall this season. The Blue Jays scored or 90 more points in a game 11 times last season.
Burgess led Northern Virginia with 27 points. Hardaway and Jones scored 15 points each. Miller and Seady added 10 points each.
Sargent's 43 points is the most in a game by a Blue Jay since William Davis also scored 43 versus Raritan Valley Community College on January 14, 2016.
The Blue Jays win splits the season series at 1-1. Manor lost at Northern Virginia on February 13, 2016 (84-75) in its inaugural meeting. The Blue Jays are 5-7 overall and 4-4 at home versus Region XX schools.
Manor's next game is on the road at Region XIX Division II Lackawanna College (8-3 Overall, 5-2 Region XIX Division II) 6:00 p.m. December 13 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Blue Jays are 4-13 overall and 1-8 on the road versus the Falcons. Manor swept Lackawanna in the 2015-2016 season for the first time since joining the NJCAA for the 2008-2009 season. The Blue Jays won, 79-72, at home on November 21, 2015 and, 83-80, on the road on January 9, 2016.