The Manchester boys basketball team hosted Wawasee Friday night in a cross-county matchup. The Squires started the game a tad slowly, but eventually got into a rhythm, going up double figures in the first half and remaining there the rest of the night for a 65-44 win.
Wawasee opened up the scoring in what was a very physical beginning to the contest. Players were banging bodies down low and nothing was coming easy. The referees let play continue as both teams imposed their will defensively. The Squires didn’t score their first points of the night until three minutes into the game on a put back by Dallas Martin.
The Warriors did well to deny the ball from reigning Times-Union Player of the Year Gavin Betten, doubling up on him and getting in lanes to keep him from getting the ball down low. Even still, he found a way to get on the baseline and drain a turnaround jumper for his first points of the night.
The size of Manchester began showing up on the scoreboard around this time, as the Squires were beginning to get anything they wanted near the rim. The Warriors did their best to defend, but the home side was just too long. With a little under a minute to go in the first, Manchester now led 12-7. That’s where things stayed at the end of the period, as a buzzer-beating attempt by Wawasee rimmed out.
Similar to the previous quarter, the Squires were unable to put any points on the board in the opening minutes of the second. Through three minutes, the two teams had each scored once, keeping the home team up by five. A transition three by Ethan Hendrix gave the team some temporary separation, but was quickly followed by a midrange jumper by Kane Dukes. Not to be out done, Hendrix fired back with another triple from the top of the key to cap off the most exciting stretch of play yet.
The shots from distance continued to fall, as Wawasee’s Weston Hoffert and Hendrix traded a pair. Even the two pointers turned into three point plays, as Betten was fouled on a put back and converted at the line for the and-one. Things were now largely in Manchester’s favor, as the play put them up by 14.

    Manchester senior Gavin Betten hits a jumper over Brayden Miller of Wawasee during Friday night's game at Manchester...Nieter

Three of the final four points of the first half belonged to the Warriors, which put the visitors back in striking distance. As the two sides headed into their respective locker rooms, Manchester led 29-17. Wawasee wasn’t out of it yet, but had plenty of work to do.
The Warriors started the second half by playing their best offensive basketball of the game so far, but they were unable to get the stops needed to cut into the Manchester lead. The Squires had also turned it up a notch offensively, and after a three for Betten and an and-one for Tallon Torpy, the home side was suddenly up 17 just two minutes into the third.
The Squires were briefly able to extend their advantage to 20, but Wawasee quickly brought it back down. Not by much, as the home side remained firmly in control. Following the spurt at the beginning of the half for the Warriors, Manchester had locked in defensively, making it incredibly difficult for the visitors to put any points on the board. Whether it was a trap or strong presence at the rim, the home side was getting it done everywhere.
A tip in by Betten in the final seconds of the third gave him 20 points for the game and extended his team’s lead to 18 with just eight minutes to go.
An emphatic steal and slam by Betten in the opening minutes of the fourth led to perhaps the biggest eruption from the Squire students of the night, and put an exclamation point on a game that was quickly running out of time. A pair of threes by Wawasee in the first two minutes kept them in striking range, but they had not trailed by single digits since the first half.
The Squires quickly answered to go back up by 20, and that’s around where the lead remained for the remainder of the contest.
Manchester (2-1) is on the road at Tippecanoe Valley Tuesday, while Wawasee (1-3) is at home against West Noble Saturday night.