Manor College too much for Knights in ESAC Conference loss
By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
Photos by Hannah Pasquarella
Knightly News Sports Photographer
The Central Penn College Knights men’s basketball team fell to the Manor College Blue Jays by a score of 106-73 in an ESAC Conference matchup from East Pennsboro Middle School.
Coming into the game, the Knights knew they needed a victory to stay in the mix in conference play, especially considering that the Blue Jays led the ESAC in the season’s early going.
The Knights struck first in the contest, with Riley Young hitting a contested 3-pointer, giving the Knights their only lead of the game at 3-0.
From there, Manor took control, going on an 18-3 run over the game’s first seven minutes. An early 3-pointer from Deacon Linder helped set the tone for the Blue Jays, followed by another 3-pointer from reigning ESAC Player of the Week Manny Roach.
A bright spot for the Knights in the first half was Gabriel Kearney, playing all 20 minutes, pouring in 11 points to attempt to keep pace with Manor College.
At about the halfway point of the first half, Cheikh Diagne hit another 3-point basket to extend Manor College’s lead to 17, 30-13.
But the Knights fought through adversity in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Back-to-back layups from Cameron Wilson allowed the Knights to keep the game close, bringing the score to 44-30 with about four minutes left in the half.
The Knights played solid defense over the final three minutes of the half, allowing only four points on the Blue Jays’ last several possessions. After an ill-advised foul on Manor College with six seconds left, Aaron Harrison Jr. hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Knights some momentum going to the break, trailing 50-38.
The Knights came into the second half within striking distance after a solid run at the end of the first half, hoping to maintain the momentum that they gained.
Unfortunately, that was not to be, as the Blue Jays went on a 10-3 run in the first four minutes of the second half, thanks to 3-pointers from Roach and Diagne in Manor College’s first few possessions.
Dahsan King started to get hot, helping to slow down the Manor College run, hitting two key 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half. Even with King’s buckets, the Knights still trailed by 20 points with 13 minutes left in the game.
From there, the Knights simply could not guard the perimeter offense for the Blue Jays, allowing 3-pointers from Nassir Cook, Ihsan Beyah, and Diagne over the next five minutes. This allowed Manor College to develop a significant lead, up 91-60 with seven minutes left.
Down the stretch, Wilson did everything he could to keep the Knights in the game, adding eight points in the second half and imposing his will on the glass. This effort was not enough, though, as Roach hit back-to-back shots with about three minutes left to extend the Blue Jays’ lead 103-69. Manor College went on to close out the contest by a score of 106-73.
The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was Wilson, who poured in a season-high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Kearney added 13 points and four rebounds, while King chipped in 11 points.
On the other side of the ball, the Blue Jays had five players in double figures on the evening, led by 22 points from Roach. Bryce Nwobu scored 20 points and secured 13 rebounds, while Tyray Cooper had 19 points and seven rebounds.
The biggest issue for the Knights on the evening was closing on rebounds, losing the edge on the glass 52-37 and allowing numerous second-chance opportunities for the Blue Jays.
For the Knights, this loss was a tough way to close out their home slate for the first half of the season, mainly because of the rivalry these two teams have built in the ESAC Conference. The Knights fell to 0-11 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.
For Manor College, they continued their fantastic play on the season, moving to 8-3 and 3-0 in conference.
The Knights will travel to Penn State York for a USCAA contest this Saturday and will participate in the Doc Greene Tournament at Juniata College on Dec. 29 and 30. They return home for a doubleheader on Jan. 11 versus Penn State York.
The Knightly News Media Club will be broadcasting all of the Central Penn College men’s and women’s home games during the 2025-26 season. You can tune in at https://www.youtube.com/@KnightlyNewsCPC.
On this broadcast, Dr. Paul Miller and Dalton Koller were on the call, with Noah Lopez producing the show.
