Knights cruise in home finale against Manor College

Finish season 5 and 3 on home court

By Blake Myers

Knightly News Reporter

blake.myers@mymail.centralpenn.edu

In their final home game of the season Saturday afternoon, the Central Penn Knights men’s basketball team defeated the Manor College Blue Jays at East Pennsboro Area High School, 95-79.

The Knights were locked in a stalemate with Manor College early on, as the two times traded plays and shots at the goal at the beginning of the game, with the Knights leading by only one five minutes into the game.

Midway through the first half, the Knights would find themselves extending the lead, as Knights guard Nate Jean-Philippe would hit two 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, putting Central Penn up 30-21.

Later in the first half, the Knights would again find themselves on fire, going on a 10-0 run and extending the lead to 17, led by stifling defense, as they would go into halftime, up with the score at 47-30.

The key player of the first half was Kobe Gantz, who constantly found himself in the middle of offensive and defensive plays for Central Penn. Gantz would go on to play all 40 minutes of the game, falling just one assist away from a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Central Penn would come out of the half firing once again, led by Jean-Philippe’s back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes. Central Penn would lead early in the second half by a score of 53-37.

Midway through the second half, the Knights would maintain their comfortable and controlling lead, which grew as large as to 22 points after a big converted 3-pointer from freshman Ayden Conti.

Manor College, though, did not go away without a fight, as the Blue Jays would catch fire with a 7-0 run to get the lead to as little as 12. During this second-half resurgence, Manor College’s Nissir Cook contributed in a major way, leading his team with 23 points and seven rebounds.

After a timeout by coach Gary Martin, the Knights righted the defensive ship with a key turnover and ultimately pulled away, winning by a score of 95-79.

The Knightly News Player of the Game was Jean-Philippe, scoring 31 points on 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, adding six rebounds and six assists.

In addition to Cook’s 23 points for Manor College, Eddie Fortescue Jr. contributed 20 points and Shyere Mayhue added 13.

It was a big game all around for the Knights. In addition to Jean-Philippe’s 31 points and Gantz’s near triple-double, Quadere Allen had 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Freshman Zaheim Lewis added eight points and Conti chipped in seven.

While the Knights’ season record is not what they would have hoped for at 8-15, they did play considerably better at home, ending the season with a 5-3 mark in front of Knights fans in Enola.

The Knights will conclude their season with a road matchup Wednesday night at rival Williamson Trade.

The Knightly News Media Club broadcast the game. Paul Miller and Brian Christiana were on the call, with Dalton Koller producing the game. The link is below.

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Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu. Story edited by media-club co-advisers Professor Paul Miller and Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.