LOGANSPORT — Manchester shot out of the chute in a manner befitting its glorious season — and in a manner befitting the end of a 31-year wait — Gavin Betten dazzled in a dominant manner befitting his Indiana All-Star candidacy, and tipped-over Tipton never fully recovered from running into those obstacles.
Roaring to a 10-1 lead in the opening 2 minutes, 21 seconds, the Class 2A No. 3-ranked Squires rolled to a 54-36 Logansport Regional boys basketball championship win Saturday afternoon at the Berry Bowl.
Manchester (23-2) secured the program’s first regional crown since 1994 and climbed to its most wins since closing 23-1 in 1994-95.
“We really stressed that in practice this week,” Betten said of the Squires’ electric start. ”Really, we have all year. Our intensity’s been through the roof recently, and we just gotta keep it up. Our defense lately has been the best it’s ever been, so I’m really proud of the guys. I thought we played great.”
Betten certainly did. He scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked six shots, dished five assists and made three steals — each and every one of those figures leading all players on either team. The 6-6 lethal lefty finished 9-of-13 from the field.
Betten and fellow seniors Tallon Torpy (18) and Ethan Hendrix (14) combined for all but two of Manchester’s points on the day, yet it was all the starters involved in the fast beginning, with each of them having at least one bucket or one rebound within the opening1:58 as the Squires grabbed a 7-0 lead.
“That (start) was key in a game like this, where nerves are a factor,” Manchester coach Eli Henson said. “You gotta jump out to an early lead. That kind of settles everybody down, gets the crowd involved and maybe puts a little less confidence in the other team. I thought we did a very good job doing that, and then maintaining. We never trailed, and kept building the lead throughout the game.”
Henson called Betten, who went into the day averaging 26.4 points, but who was held to seven in the first half, typically strong at letting the game come to him — “he does that, he’s unselfish.”
The coach raved about Torpy’s play.
“Tallon had the game of his life,” Henson said after Torpy poured in twice his season average with his 18 points. “For him to go out and play the way he did on our biggest stage yet, that’s huge, that’s awesome. Kudos to him.”
Torpy hit 7-of-10 shots from the field with a pair of 3-pointers to go with five rebounds.
“I’m literally in shock,” Torpy said of earning a regional title. “I don’t know what to say. I’m just glad I got to do it with this group of guys. It’s our senior year, so we’re never gonna get to do this again. I’m just glad we get to go on a run and that I get to do it with my friends.”
The run continues at the loaded 2A northern semistate next Saturday, with matchups and site to be determined Sunday by the IHSAA. The Squires will be joined in the two-rounder by No. 1 Wapahani (26-1), No. 6 Gary 21st Century (20-6) and Jimtown (16-10).
“This feels amazing,” Hendrix said as he clutched the regional trophy after dealing four assists to go with his 14 points. “It’s been awhile since Manchester’s been able to do something like this, so really, really pumped. There’s so many things I could say, but really, we’re just all hard-working kids and we want the best for each other.”
Hendrix handled initial duties on Blue Devil 6-6 senior standout Grady Carpenter, giving away 10 inches in the process.
Carpenter — like Betten, a Grace College commit — went into the game averaging 21.6 points, but was limited to 11 on 5-of-17 shooting to go with four assists and two blocks.
“Grady, he’s one heck of a player,” Hendrix said. “I started on him, but as a team, we did a good job at rotating over and helping over, especially when he got below the free throw line, making him give up the ball. We just tried to make him uncomfortable.”
Senior Sam Quigley led Tipton with 12 points.
The Devils (19-7), who saw their eight-game winning streak snipped, bounced back from their early 10-1 hole to get within 12-10 late in the first quarter, but Manchester led 15-10 at the end of the period thanks to a Torpy triple, then overwhelmed Tipton 11-2 in the second quarter for a 26-12 halftime lead.
The Squires stretched the spread to 39-19 by the 2:35 mark of the third period, allowed the Devils no closer than 16 the rest of the way and led by a high of 46-25 midway through the fourth quarter.
“They didn’t (show the nerves),” Henson said of his players, “but you know that inside their hearts are racing, but man, they played so well, played so hard, played with their heart all game long, and that was the difference.”
Added the coach, “I thought we did a good job of making (Tipton) struggle to get good looks, and when they did, we did a pretty good job getting rebounds.”
Manchester shot 23-of-45 from the field for 51% with four treys, while the Devils were 14-of-49 for 29% with five.
The Squires won the glass 32-26. Turnovers wound up even at nine apiece.