Two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum met in North Manchester Friday night, as the 2A No. 7 Manchester boys faced off against a winless Wabash side. The game went just as one would expect, with the Squires jumping out to a big lead early and coasting the rest of the way to a 65-18 victory, the team’s eleventh in a row.
“These guys understand the significance of not taking any time off and not taking any team for granted,” Manchester head coach Eli Henson said after the game. “If you go out there and play at 75% effort, what are you going to get out of that? These guys hold themselves to a high standard and they hold each other accountable.”
Manchester improved to 4-0 in the Three Rivers Conference with the win to remain in first place.
The Squire defense was suffocating to start things out, forcing turnovers on the first two Apache possessions. On the other end, the home side was just as good, as Gavin Betten scored two quick buckets, followed up by a Tallon Torpy layup to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. This led to the first Wabash timeout of the night.
The break didn’t do much to help the visitors, as Betten continued his hot start to the game with four more points, including a dunk on a fast break that brought the arena to its feet. A tough contested finish by Ethan Hendrix saw him complete a three-point play at the line, and four minutes into the game, Manchester was up 13-0.
The only blemish on the hot start to the game was the discipline on the defensive end, as five minutes into the game, the Squires had already committed five team fouls. It was due to getting into the bonus that Wabash scored its first point of the game. Aside from that though, the rotations and help defense was incredibly effective, as the visitors had still not made a shot from the field seven minutes into the game.
It was around this point that Betten reached double digits scoring on a steal of an inbounds pass underneath the rim. Those would be the final points of a first quarter that was completely dominated by the Squires. Aside from the one made free throw on the fifth foul of the period, the Apaches were unable to do anything offensively, leading to an 18-1 Manchester lead.
About a minute into the second, Wabash was finally able to muster up some offensive success, hitting its first two shots of the night. On the other side, the Manchester offense that had gotten off to such a strong start had quieted down immensely. It took a pair of Betten free throws two minutes into the quarter for the home side to finally get on the board in the quarter.
That seemed to get the Squires back into a rhythm, as they quickly added back onto their lead, with another five points for Betten extending the lead to 21. This was followed up by four quick points off of steals for Ethan Hendrix, who used the burst to join his teammate in double figures while also growing the lead to 25.
They didn’t stop there. Betten’s second slam of the evening saw him pass the 20-point threshold with about three minutes to go until halftime. He’d throw down yet another one before the half as the lead was now over 30 thanks to another extended run. After he reached 25 points in the first 15 minutes of play, he sat on the bench for a well-earned rest for the final minute of the first quarter.
“They really are a dynamic duo, they’re really hard to stop,” Henson said.

    Manchester senior Gavin Betten uses his height for a clear look to the basket during the first quarter...Nieter

When the dust finally settled after an exciting first half, for Squire fans at least, Manchester held onto a commanding 40-5 lead, meaning the second half would feature a running clock for the entirety of the 16 minutes left.
Four more from Ethan Hendrix gave him 15 on the night and got the Manchester lead close to 40 before a much needed Wabash basket finally ended the long drought. It was only the third made field goal of the night for the visitors. The advantage finally reached 40 points with three minutes left in the expedited third on Dallas Martin’s first points of the night.
Following another and-one for Hendrix with a little over a minute left in the third, Manchester cleared its bench and made way for the reserves to get some extended run. Wabash was able to use this to its advantage offensively to pick up a few baskets at the end of the quarter, but this made little impact on the score of the game. With just eight minutes to go, this one had been decided long ago, and the Squires now led 55-14.
Even with the starters having exited the game back in the third, Manchester didn’t miss a beat as time winded down. Aaron Reid left his mark on the contest with six points in the fourth, and senior Carter Wagoner made an appearance, scoring on a layup.
“It’s great to have these guys get a bunch of action because a lot of these guys are going to be our team next year,” Henson said. “A lot of these guys probably wished they played more and that time at the end of the game gives them the chance to go out and earn more time.”
The high-flying acrobatics of the home team weren’t done either, as junior Carson Heath threw down a dunk in the final minute, just before narrowly missing out on a second moments later on a fast break. He’d still add the second basket, but jumped just a half second too early to throw it down.
Betten finished with 29 points, while Hendrix scored 19.
Manchester (12-1, 4-0 TRC) is at Adams Central next Saturday.