Squires Fall In Final Appearance At Weeks Gym
February 19, 2020 at 4:18 a.m.
Squires Fall In Final Appearance At Weeks Gym
By Ryan Villanueva-
The Squires have not beaten the host Eagles on their court since Dec. 20, 1997. With Tuesday night marking their final time playing at Weeks Gym, Manchester wanted to end that streak with a big win.
While they held on to one-point leads at halftime and in the fourth quarter, Manchester would lose steam late as Columbia City pulled away with a 57-47 win Tuesday night.
“We gave up too many easy baskets down the stretch underneath,” said Manchester boys head coach Mark Underwood. “We just were not able to convert at a high enough clip offensively to get the job done, but the kids played hard, they played with a lot of heart, they played together, they felt the game plan that we had. So as a coach, you want to win and that’s the ultimate goal, but you also feel pretty good some of the things I just mentioned.”
For the Eagles (9-11), senior forward Michael Sievers led all scorers with 20. Senior guard Mitchell Wilson, a Huntington University commit and Columbia City’s all-time leading scorer, had 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter.
In the loss, Manchester (9-10) senior forwards Thane Creager and Kreeden Krull each had a team-high 10 points. Junior guard Wes Hamby and senior guard Caleb Stout each scored eight points in the loss.
After falling behind 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Squires outscored the Eagles 16-6 in the second quarter to take a 23-22 lead at halftime.
It was a good back-and-forth battle for both sides, as Manchester was able to keep up with the Eagles and facing multiple lead changes. But the Eagles’ sophomore guard Mason Baker made two big three-point baskets and scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
With it being the final game for Manchester at Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium, coach Underwood reflected on times spent in the arena from over the years.
“I grew up and played at Manchester in the 1980’s, and we always came to the sectional here from the time I was a liitle kid and all the way through until when class basketball came. So, this place — to me — has so many memories and it almost breaks my heart to think about the fact that it is going to be no longer,” said Underwood, who was a member of the Manchester Squires teams that were sectional champions in 1980 and 1982.
“A lot of sentimental thoughts come back as I walk into this building. Memories of my teammates, memories of winning the sectional as a sophomore (1980) and as a senior (1982), and memories of coach (Tom) Sittler. I know there are people around here who are excited to have a new building, but there are a lot of memories in this building for me and I think for a lot of the people from Manchester and Whitko and Columbia City and the teams that used to do battle here in sectionals.”
Columbia City plays next Saturday at Northern Lakes Conference opponent Northridge before returning Feb. 28 against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran — in what will be the grand farewell to Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium.
Manchester begins the first of their final three games of the regular season, all at home, beginning Friday night against Maconaquah.
“Hopefully, that home court advantage will be good to us here,” said Underwood. “We will have to be at our best. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s O.K. because when you have the sectional that you do with Wabash and Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, you better be playing tough teams down the stretch to prepare you for what’s ahead, or you are probably not going to be ready.”
COLUMBIA CITY 57, MANCHESTER 47
MA 11 12 11 13 – 47
CC 16 6 14 21 – 57
Manchester: Thane Creager 10, Kreeden Krull 10, Wes Hamby 8, Caleb Stout 8, Max Carter 6, Austin Underwood 5
Columbia City: Michael Sievers 20, Mitchell Wilson 15, Mason Baker 10, Gregory Bolt 6, Andrew Hedrick 3, Max Bedwell 2, Bryce Taylor 1
The Squires have not beaten the host Eagles on their court since Dec. 20, 1997. With Tuesday night marking their final time playing at Weeks Gym, Manchester wanted to end that streak with a big win.
While they held on to one-point leads at halftime and in the fourth quarter, Manchester would lose steam late as Columbia City pulled away with a 57-47 win Tuesday night.
“We gave up too many easy baskets down the stretch underneath,” said Manchester boys head coach Mark Underwood. “We just were not able to convert at a high enough clip offensively to get the job done, but the kids played hard, they played with a lot of heart, they played together, they felt the game plan that we had. So as a coach, you want to win and that’s the ultimate goal, but you also feel pretty good some of the things I just mentioned.”
For the Eagles (9-11), senior forward Michael Sievers led all scorers with 20. Senior guard Mitchell Wilson, a Huntington University commit and Columbia City’s all-time leading scorer, had 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter.
In the loss, Manchester (9-10) senior forwards Thane Creager and Kreeden Krull each had a team-high 10 points. Junior guard Wes Hamby and senior guard Caleb Stout each scored eight points in the loss.
After falling behind 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Squires outscored the Eagles 16-6 in the second quarter to take a 23-22 lead at halftime.
It was a good back-and-forth battle for both sides, as Manchester was able to keep up with the Eagles and facing multiple lead changes. But the Eagles’ sophomore guard Mason Baker made two big three-point baskets and scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
With it being the final game for Manchester at Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium, coach Underwood reflected on times spent in the arena from over the years.
“I grew up and played at Manchester in the 1980’s, and we always came to the sectional here from the time I was a liitle kid and all the way through until when class basketball came. So, this place — to me — has so many memories and it almost breaks my heart to think about the fact that it is going to be no longer,” said Underwood, who was a member of the Manchester Squires teams that were sectional champions in 1980 and 1982.
“A lot of sentimental thoughts come back as I walk into this building. Memories of my teammates, memories of winning the sectional as a sophomore (1980) and as a senior (1982), and memories of coach (Tom) Sittler. I know there are people around here who are excited to have a new building, but there are a lot of memories in this building for me and I think for a lot of the people from Manchester and Whitko and Columbia City and the teams that used to do battle here in sectionals.”
Columbia City plays next Saturday at Northern Lakes Conference opponent Northridge before returning Feb. 28 against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran — in what will be the grand farewell to Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium.
Manchester begins the first of their final three games of the regular season, all at home, beginning Friday night against Maconaquah.
“Hopefully, that home court advantage will be good to us here,” said Underwood. “We will have to be at our best. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s O.K. because when you have the sectional that you do with Wabash and Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, you better be playing tough teams down the stretch to prepare you for what’s ahead, or you are probably not going to be ready.”
COLUMBIA CITY 57, MANCHESTER 47
MA 11 12 11 13 – 47
CC 16 6 14 21 – 57
Manchester: Thane Creager 10, Kreeden Krull 10, Wes Hamby 8, Caleb Stout 8, Max Carter 6, Austin Underwood 5
Columbia City: Michael Sievers 20, Mitchell Wilson 15, Mason Baker 10, Gregory Bolt 6, Andrew Hedrick 3, Max Bedwell 2, Bryce Taylor 1
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