Minus Swan, Squires Beat N. Miami
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BUNKER HILL - Earlier in the week Manchester boys basketball coach Gary Goshert said he didn't want to have to think about what Eric Swan meant to his team.
Tuesday night in the first game of the Maconaquah Sectional, a game Manchester won 55-39 over North Miami, Goshert may have found out what he did or didn't know already.
"Nobody understands what that statement meant when I said I couldn't answer that question," said Goshert. "We had the same situation last year when Eric wasn't here. You never know until the opportunity arises what kids can do. These kids have tremendous character."
The 6-foot-3 Swan, the Times-Union's Player of the Year, came in averaging 18 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He left Bunker Hill last night with the exact same averages; he didn't play. Swan turned an ankle Monday night in practice and walked to the bench from the locker room on crutches.
"It's a day-by-day thing," said Goshert. "He twisted his ankle Monday night in practice."
Goshert also may have found out just what Rex Reimer means to the team. In the win that improves Manchester's season record to 15-6, Reimer led all scorers with 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Nate Little and Lee Shafer added eight and six points respectively in the win. The Warriors were led in the scoring column by Kenny Hanson's 22 points, 16 in the second half. B.J. Edwards contributed seven points in the losing effort.
Said Goshert of Reimer's importance: "He's a great player, I was counting on the other players to step up (in Swan's absence). (Chris) Betten had 12 rebounds and (Steve) Fawcett had six assists, that's big from a standpoint. Michael Hendrix did a great job on Hanson. Those little things are extremely important. Rex's 25 points is what everybody sees, but everyone contributed. Nate Little went home sick on Monday and comes in and does a great job."
The Squires defeated North Miami 62-37 earlier in the season.
"We played them earlier in the year," said Goshert. "We played the other teams too, so we knew everyone. The draw wasn't a factor."
Betten gave Manchester the first lead of the game at the 7:47 mark of the first frame on two free throws, making the count 2-0. The Squires pushed their advantage to 5-2 on a Reimer three-pointer, 1 of 3 in the first quarter, and led 13-10 after one quarter of play. Reimer accounted for nine of Manchester's 13 first-quarter points.
The Squire defense held Hanson in check in the opening quarter, allowing him to connect on 1 of 6 field goal attempts. He came in averaging 19.6 points per game. Hanson was 0 of 3 in the second stanza but was a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe to account for his six first half points.
Manchester as a team shot 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from the field in the first half. North Miami, on the other hand, shot a dismal 5 of 20 (25 percent) in the first half found itself down only 20-14 at the half.
The Warriors stayed close in the second half as Hanson began to heat up. Manchester outscored North Miami 10-7 in the third quarter; Hanson accounted for five of the Warriors' seven points.
The 6-foot North Miami senior scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Squires connected on 13 of 19 charity tosses and outscored North Miami 25-18 in the fourth quarter. The Squires made good on 17 of 22 (77.3 percent) free throws for the game. North Miami was just 6 of 10 at the charity stripe for the game as they committed 20 fouls and finished their season at 5-16.
Manchester will play Northfield (7-14) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the sectional semifinals. Northfield advanced by beating Wabash 54-39. Manchester defeated Northfield 43-38 earlier in the season.
"Two weekends ago we beat them at their place," said Goshert. "We were full strength and they were not, we won by five. We have to pull together and have a good game."
MANCHESTER 55 NORTH MIAMI 39
Manchester 13 7 10 25 - 55
North Miami 10 4 7 18 - 39
Manchester FG FT S R Pts.
Reimer (G) 9-13 3-4 0 3 25
Betten (C) 1-4 2-4 0 12 4
Hendrix 0-1 4-4 0 1 4
Fawcett (F) 1-3 2-5 0 5 4
Shafer (F) 2-9 2-2 1 5 6
Little (G) 2-3 4-4 0 2 8
Young 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lochner 2-4 0-0 0 1 4
Keffaber 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bazzoni 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Friedan 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-37 17-23 1 31 55
North Miami FG FT S R Pts.
Hanson (G) 7-17 6-6 0 1 22
Nixon (F) 2-4 0-0 0 3 4
Nolley 0-2 0-2 0 3 0
Wideman (C) 1-2 0-0 0 6 2
Dillman 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Deardorff 0-3 0-2 0 1 0
Graham (F) 1-6 0-0 0 5 2
Deeds 1-3 0-0 0 0 2
Edwards (G) 3-7 0-0 2 3 7
Hall 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Welsh 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Garvin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-45 6-10 2 27 39
Three-pointers - Manchester 4 (Reimer 4), North Miami 3 (Hanson 2, Edwards). Turnovers - Manchester 3, North Miami 5. Fouls - Manchester 13, North Miami 20. Fouled out - Edwards, Deardorff. [[In-content Ad]]
BUNKER HILL - Earlier in the week Manchester boys basketball coach Gary Goshert said he didn't want to have to think about what Eric Swan meant to his team.
Tuesday night in the first game of the Maconaquah Sectional, a game Manchester won 55-39 over North Miami, Goshert may have found out what he did or didn't know already.
"Nobody understands what that statement meant when I said I couldn't answer that question," said Goshert. "We had the same situation last year when Eric wasn't here. You never know until the opportunity arises what kids can do. These kids have tremendous character."
The 6-foot-3 Swan, the Times-Union's Player of the Year, came in averaging 18 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He left Bunker Hill last night with the exact same averages; he didn't play. Swan turned an ankle Monday night in practice and walked to the bench from the locker room on crutches.
"It's a day-by-day thing," said Goshert. "He twisted his ankle Monday night in practice."
Goshert also may have found out just what Rex Reimer means to the team. In the win that improves Manchester's season record to 15-6, Reimer led all scorers with 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Nate Little and Lee Shafer added eight and six points respectively in the win. The Warriors were led in the scoring column by Kenny Hanson's 22 points, 16 in the second half. B.J. Edwards contributed seven points in the losing effort.
Said Goshert of Reimer's importance: "He's a great player, I was counting on the other players to step up (in Swan's absence). (Chris) Betten had 12 rebounds and (Steve) Fawcett had six assists, that's big from a standpoint. Michael Hendrix did a great job on Hanson. Those little things are extremely important. Rex's 25 points is what everybody sees, but everyone contributed. Nate Little went home sick on Monday and comes in and does a great job."
The Squires defeated North Miami 62-37 earlier in the season.
"We played them earlier in the year," said Goshert. "We played the other teams too, so we knew everyone. The draw wasn't a factor."
Betten gave Manchester the first lead of the game at the 7:47 mark of the first frame on two free throws, making the count 2-0. The Squires pushed their advantage to 5-2 on a Reimer three-pointer, 1 of 3 in the first quarter, and led 13-10 after one quarter of play. Reimer accounted for nine of Manchester's 13 first-quarter points.
The Squire defense held Hanson in check in the opening quarter, allowing him to connect on 1 of 6 field goal attempts. He came in averaging 19.6 points per game. Hanson was 0 of 3 in the second stanza but was a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe to account for his six first half points.
Manchester as a team shot 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from the field in the first half. North Miami, on the other hand, shot a dismal 5 of 20 (25 percent) in the first half found itself down only 20-14 at the half.
The Warriors stayed close in the second half as Hanson began to heat up. Manchester outscored North Miami 10-7 in the third quarter; Hanson accounted for five of the Warriors' seven points.
The 6-foot North Miami senior scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Squires connected on 13 of 19 charity tosses and outscored North Miami 25-18 in the fourth quarter. The Squires made good on 17 of 22 (77.3 percent) free throws for the game. North Miami was just 6 of 10 at the charity stripe for the game as they committed 20 fouls and finished their season at 5-16.
Manchester will play Northfield (7-14) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the sectional semifinals. Northfield advanced by beating Wabash 54-39. Manchester defeated Northfield 43-38 earlier in the season.
"Two weekends ago we beat them at their place," said Goshert. "We were full strength and they were not, we won by five. We have to pull together and have a good game."
MANCHESTER 55 NORTH MIAMI 39
Manchester 13 7 10 25 - 55
North Miami 10 4 7 18 - 39
Manchester FG FT S R Pts.
Reimer (G) 9-13 3-4 0 3 25
Betten (C) 1-4 2-4 0 12 4
Hendrix 0-1 4-4 0 1 4
Fawcett (F) 1-3 2-5 0 5 4
Shafer (F) 2-9 2-2 1 5 6
Little (G) 2-3 4-4 0 2 8
Young 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lochner 2-4 0-0 0 1 4
Keffaber 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bazzoni 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Friedan 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-37 17-23 1 31 55
North Miami FG FT S R Pts.
Hanson (G) 7-17 6-6 0 1 22
Nixon (F) 2-4 0-0 0 3 4
Nolley 0-2 0-2 0 3 0
Wideman (C) 1-2 0-0 0 6 2
Dillman 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Deardorff 0-3 0-2 0 1 0
Graham (F) 1-6 0-0 0 5 2
Deeds 1-3 0-0 0 0 2
Edwards (G) 3-7 0-0 2 3 7
Hall 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Welsh 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Garvin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-45 6-10 2 27 39
Three-pointers - Manchester 4 (Reimer 4), North Miami 3 (Hanson 2, Edwards). Turnovers - Manchester 3, North Miami 5. Fouls - Manchester 13, North Miami 20. Fouled out - Edwards, Deardorff. [[In-content Ad]]