Foul Trouble Hampers Squires Against Homestead
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - All things equal, Manchester's boys basketball team faced an uphill battle in Saturday's game against Homestead because of the Spartans' size alone.
Homestead starts four players 6-foot-3 or taller, including 6-7 center Mike Rhinehart and 6-6 forward Kyle Cleaver. Manchester has no player taller than 6-3.
And all things were not equal.
Manchester got into foul trouble, committing 30 fouls to Homestead's 17. Homestead hit 28 of 35 free throws; Manchester hit 9 of 12. Homestead grabbed 29 rebounds; Manchester had 15.
The size, the foul trouble, the free throws and the rebounds - these four things added together made it nearly impossible for the Squires to win, and they didn't. The Spartans (4-1) won 71-60, but even with all the advantages they held, they still needed a late 11-2 run to turn a 56-54 lead with 3:47 left into a 67-56 lead with one minute left.
The free throws didn't come just because Manchester fouled late, either. Homestead hit 17 of 18 free throws through the first three quarters.
Senior guard Nick Ankenbruck hit 6 of 11 field goals and 12 of 12 free throws to lead Homestead with 26 points. Rhinehart, who will play football at Purdue, added 19 points.
Manchester senior guard Klay Bechtold scored 14, and senior guard Anthony Frieden added 13.
Because the Squires (2-3) were at such a size disadvantage, they tried to even it out by playing physical, but they succeeded only in piling up fouls.
Manchester starting center Klint Rupley was a non-factor most of the game, missing the second quarter, much of the third quarter and playing less than two minutes in the fourth before fouling out.
"We committed a lot of fouls, but we knew we had to put pressure on those guys because of their size," Manchester coach Gary Goshert said. "To get outscored 28-9 at the free throw line shows we didn't adjust well to the way the game was officiated. Getting outscored 28-9 is a big discrepancy at the free throw line that's hard to overcome."
Still, the Squires nearly did overcome it, thanks to the three-point shot. The long-distance basket kept Manchester in the game as the Squires finished 9 of 22 behind the arc.
Homestead's size turned Manchester into a perimeter jump-shooting team, but while the Squires rarely scored inside, they still helped the offense by at least getting the ball inside.
"We got some shots swatted away, but we also got some kickouts (to three-point shooters)," Goshert said. "But for as many times as we got it inside in the first half, we didn't convert.
"It's difficult to have to win a ballgame from the perimeter. We didn't want to have to do that tonight."
With Homestead leading 36-30 early in the third quarter, Rhinehart looked to add momentum by dunking. But Rhinehart botched the dunk, and Frieden scored on the other end to cut the lead to 36-32. Manchester stayed with Homestead the rest of the way until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.
"That didn't help us any," Homestead coach Chris Johnson said. "It would have put us up eight. You always want your players to go up strong, but it was a wide-open layup. The crowd got back into it, and it was a bit of a turn. Instead of us being up eight, we were up four."
After Manchester guard Anthony Sorg hit a three-pointer to bring Manchester within 56-54 with 3:47 left, Homestead pulled away and went on its 11-2 run by switching from man-to-man defense to a matchup zone defense. Homestead's big basket in the run came from guard Erich Martin, whose three-pointer extended the lead to 63-56 with 2:35 left.
"I thought we were where we wanted to be with 3 to 3-1/2 minutes to go, but they switched defenses," Goshert said, "and we didn't adjust well. It was the first time we have seen that defense this year.
"We got the ball into the teeth of the defense but couldn't convert. Give them credit for changing defenses and hitting their free throws."
HOMESTEAD 71
MANCHESTER 60
Homestead (4-1) 15 17 17 22 - 71
Manchester (2-3) 18 9 21 12 - 60
Homestead FG FT A S R Pts.
Ankenbruck (G) 6-11 12-12 1 0 0 26
Rhinehart (C) 6-9 7-10 5 0 10 19
Martin (G) 3-7 6-7 1 0 7 15
Cleaver (F) 3-4 0-0 0 1 4 6
Prosser (F) 1-1 0-2 4 0 1 2
Barr 0-2 3-4 0 0 4 3
Furniss 0-0 0-0 1 0 3 0
Green 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 19-34 28-35 12 12 9 71
Manchester FG FT A S R Pts.
Bechtold (F) 5-13 1-1 0 0 0 14
Frieden (G) 5-11 1-2 1 2 2 13
Rupley (C) 3-5 0-1 0 1 2 7
Kerr (F) 2-3 2-2 0 0 3 6
A. Sorg (G) 1-2 0-0 4 0 2 3
Simcoe 3-6 4-4 1 1 5 12
Dale 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2
M. Sorg 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 2
Stoops 0-3 1-2 2 1 0 1
Westafer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 21-46 9-12 9 6 15 60
Three-point goals - Manchester 9-22 (Bechtold 3-8, Frieden 2-6, Simcoe 2-2, A. Sorg 1-2, Rupley 1-1, Kerr 0-1, Dale 0-1, Stoops 0-1), Homestead 5-10 (Martin 3-5, Ankenbruck 2-5). Turnovers - Manchester 9, Homestead 10. Total fouls - Manchester 30, Homestead 17. Fouled out -ÊBechtold, A. Sorg, Rupley, Cleaver.
JV: HOMESTEAD 62, MANCHESTER 42
Homestead (4-1) scoring - Mike Hines 16, James Haifley 13, Matt Salisbury 12, Nick Diem 9, Derek Vondran 5, Kevin Mitchell 3, Dustin Lewis 3, Vince Green 1
Manchester (2-2) scoring - Barry Hicks 15, Blake Harper 8, Matt Straka 7, Pat Richardson 4, Jediah Carandante 3, Brad Sroufe 3, Joel Garber 2 [[In-content Ad]]
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NORTH MANCHESTER - All things equal, Manchester's boys basketball team faced an uphill battle in Saturday's game against Homestead because of the Spartans' size alone.
Homestead starts four players 6-foot-3 or taller, including 6-7 center Mike Rhinehart and 6-6 forward Kyle Cleaver. Manchester has no player taller than 6-3.
And all things were not equal.
Manchester got into foul trouble, committing 30 fouls to Homestead's 17. Homestead hit 28 of 35 free throws; Manchester hit 9 of 12. Homestead grabbed 29 rebounds; Manchester had 15.
The size, the foul trouble, the free throws and the rebounds - these four things added together made it nearly impossible for the Squires to win, and they didn't. The Spartans (4-1) won 71-60, but even with all the advantages they held, they still needed a late 11-2 run to turn a 56-54 lead with 3:47 left into a 67-56 lead with one minute left.
The free throws didn't come just because Manchester fouled late, either. Homestead hit 17 of 18 free throws through the first three quarters.
Senior guard Nick Ankenbruck hit 6 of 11 field goals and 12 of 12 free throws to lead Homestead with 26 points. Rhinehart, who will play football at Purdue, added 19 points.
Manchester senior guard Klay Bechtold scored 14, and senior guard Anthony Frieden added 13.
Because the Squires (2-3) were at such a size disadvantage, they tried to even it out by playing physical, but they succeeded only in piling up fouls.
Manchester starting center Klint Rupley was a non-factor most of the game, missing the second quarter, much of the third quarter and playing less than two minutes in the fourth before fouling out.
"We committed a lot of fouls, but we knew we had to put pressure on those guys because of their size," Manchester coach Gary Goshert said. "To get outscored 28-9 at the free throw line shows we didn't adjust well to the way the game was officiated. Getting outscored 28-9 is a big discrepancy at the free throw line that's hard to overcome."
Still, the Squires nearly did overcome it, thanks to the three-point shot. The long-distance basket kept Manchester in the game as the Squires finished 9 of 22 behind the arc.
Homestead's size turned Manchester into a perimeter jump-shooting team, but while the Squires rarely scored inside, they still helped the offense by at least getting the ball inside.
"We got some shots swatted away, but we also got some kickouts (to three-point shooters)," Goshert said. "But for as many times as we got it inside in the first half, we didn't convert.
"It's difficult to have to win a ballgame from the perimeter. We didn't want to have to do that tonight."
With Homestead leading 36-30 early in the third quarter, Rhinehart looked to add momentum by dunking. But Rhinehart botched the dunk, and Frieden scored on the other end to cut the lead to 36-32. Manchester stayed with Homestead the rest of the way until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.
"That didn't help us any," Homestead coach Chris Johnson said. "It would have put us up eight. You always want your players to go up strong, but it was a wide-open layup. The crowd got back into it, and it was a bit of a turn. Instead of us being up eight, we were up four."
After Manchester guard Anthony Sorg hit a three-pointer to bring Manchester within 56-54 with 3:47 left, Homestead pulled away and went on its 11-2 run by switching from man-to-man defense to a matchup zone defense. Homestead's big basket in the run came from guard Erich Martin, whose three-pointer extended the lead to 63-56 with 2:35 left.
"I thought we were where we wanted to be with 3 to 3-1/2 minutes to go, but they switched defenses," Goshert said, "and we didn't adjust well. It was the first time we have seen that defense this year.
"We got the ball into the teeth of the defense but couldn't convert. Give them credit for changing defenses and hitting their free throws."
HOMESTEAD 71
MANCHESTER 60
Homestead (4-1) 15 17 17 22 - 71
Manchester (2-3) 18 9 21 12 - 60
Homestead FG FT A S R Pts.
Ankenbruck (G) 6-11 12-12 1 0 0 26
Rhinehart (C) 6-9 7-10 5 0 10 19
Martin (G) 3-7 6-7 1 0 7 15
Cleaver (F) 3-4 0-0 0 1 4 6
Prosser (F) 1-1 0-2 4 0 1 2
Barr 0-2 3-4 0 0 4 3
Furniss 0-0 0-0 1 0 3 0
Green 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 19-34 28-35 12 12 9 71
Manchester FG FT A S R Pts.
Bechtold (F) 5-13 1-1 0 0 0 14
Frieden (G) 5-11 1-2 1 2 2 13
Rupley (C) 3-5 0-1 0 1 2 7
Kerr (F) 2-3 2-2 0 0 3 6
A. Sorg (G) 1-2 0-0 4 0 2 3
Simcoe 3-6 4-4 1 1 5 12
Dale 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2
M. Sorg 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 2
Stoops 0-3 1-2 2 1 0 1
Westafer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 21-46 9-12 9 6 15 60
Three-point goals - Manchester 9-22 (Bechtold 3-8, Frieden 2-6, Simcoe 2-2, A. Sorg 1-2, Rupley 1-1, Kerr 0-1, Dale 0-1, Stoops 0-1), Homestead 5-10 (Martin 3-5, Ankenbruck 2-5). Turnovers - Manchester 9, Homestead 10. Total fouls - Manchester 30, Homestead 17. Fouled out -ÊBechtold, A. Sorg, Rupley, Cleaver.
JV: HOMESTEAD 62, MANCHESTER 42
Homestead (4-1) scoring - Mike Hines 16, James Haifley 13, Matt Salisbury 12, Nick Diem 9, Derek Vondran 5, Kevin Mitchell 3, Dustin Lewis 3, Vince Green 1
Manchester (2-2) scoring - Barry Hicks 15, Blake Harper 8, Matt Straka 7, Pat Richardson 4, Jediah Carandante 3, Brad Sroufe 3, Joel Garber 2 [[In-content Ad]]