Squires Clinch TRC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - The Manchester Squires basketball team lost arguably its best player before the season started. The Squires lost starter Steve Fawcett to a torn anterior cruciate ligament halfway through the season. They lost a key senior reserve, Jonathan Price, when he and the team parted ways.
Add it all up, and what do you get? You get 18-2 overall, a No. 2 ranking in 2A, 7-0 in the Three Rivers Conference and TRC champions for two years in a row.
Manchester basketball teams swept the TRC after its boys team beat 3-16 Northfield 61-55 on Tuesday. The Manchester girls basketball team also went 7-0 in the TRC.
How and why the Squires won the TRC can be traced back to a meeting last October.
Six-foot-two forward Eric Swan, who led Manchester with 13.5 points per game as a sophomore last season, moved to California before the basketball season. More than one coach said Swan was the best young player in the TRC.
Manchester coach Gary Goshert, his tie loosened, sat down in front of a locker and was asked if there was any way he expected this team to be 18-2, to win the TRC.
"No, not really," he said. "The thing we talked about was people counting us out. All of a sudden you lose your so-called 'best player' and everybody counts you out. We're not gonna be competitive. Or we may be competitive, but they don't expect us to win many.
"That was something we talked about. I think they got the vibes from me that I just wanted to work that much harder when people started counting us out and not giving us an opportunity. It became a challenge for them right away. It inspired us more than anything else."
That inspiration carried them to a TRC title. Senior center Chris Enyeart and junior guard Rex Reimer scored 17 each against Northfield, while senior forward Heath Simcoe added 15.
The Squires cruised in the first half, taking a 34-18 halftime lead. They had zero turnovers to Northfield's six in the second quarter. Northfield attempted six field goals the second quarter; Manchester made 10. The Squires outscored Northfield 21-8 in the quarter.
Northfield had only two scorers who averaged double figures coming into the game: Coley Schenkel (20 ppg) and Nick Clifton (10 ppg). The duo went off the second half, combining for 30 of Northfield's 37 second-half points. They tallied 18 of Northfield's 22 points in the third quarter, a quarter that saw the Norsemen outscore the Squires 22-10.
Everybody - Goshert, the Manchester players, the Manchester fans - knew what those two could do coming in. When teams play Northfield, they have two worries: Clifton and Schenkel.
"We played extremely well the first half at both ends of the floor," Goshert said. "We came out the third quarter and lost a couple of their shooters a couple of times. They handled the ball better and made their shots. We had a couple of situations we didn't catch passes, and our shots didn't go in."
When Clifton made a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, Northfield trailed only 44-43. But Manchester has some go-to players of its own, and they lifted the Squires when they needed them. Enyeart scored seven and Simcoe six as they combined for 13 of Manchester's 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Squires outrebounded Northfield 10-3 in the fourth quarter.
When Clifton pulled Northfield within one, Simcoe scored to make it 46-43. Schenkel scored to make it 46-45. Simcoe responded to make it 48-45. This time, Simcoe's basket triggered a 7-0 run that put Manchester ahead 53-45.
The Norsemen threatened, but they never could get the defensive stop to take the lead.
"I'm not one who likes to go after moral victories, but it was a moral victory because of what it does for us going into the sectional," Northfield coach Chris Keisling said. "The biggest plus is we did this against the No. 2 team on their home floor, we came back and were in it at the end.
"A 3-15 team took Manchester to the final minutes. Manchester showed why it's a good team. They're a good shooting team, a good passing team."
Northfield dropped to 1-5 in the TRC. Last season Manchester won the TRC title by beating Northfield on its home floor.
"Last year the game we played at the end of the season was for the championship," Goshert said. "We had one loss. Northfield had one loss. Whoever won was the champs.
"Tonight we were going to be co-champs (with 6-1 Oak Hill) or outright champs."
Yes, Goshert said, the Squires lost three key players this season. But they still had Chris Good, Scot Croner, Enyeart and Simcoe - all seniors who are now starters.
"We had a lot of obstacles to overcome this year from the very beginning to things that took place halfway in the season to injuries to sickness," Goshert said. "When teams have seasons like this, it's because they have a strong nucleus of players."
Manchester is at Maconaquah March 3 for the sectional. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - The Manchester Squires basketball team lost arguably its best player before the season started. The Squires lost starter Steve Fawcett to a torn anterior cruciate ligament halfway through the season. They lost a key senior reserve, Jonathan Price, when he and the team parted ways.
Add it all up, and what do you get? You get 18-2 overall, a No. 2 ranking in 2A, 7-0 in the Three Rivers Conference and TRC champions for two years in a row.
Manchester basketball teams swept the TRC after its boys team beat 3-16 Northfield 61-55 on Tuesday. The Manchester girls basketball team also went 7-0 in the TRC.
How and why the Squires won the TRC can be traced back to a meeting last October.
Six-foot-two forward Eric Swan, who led Manchester with 13.5 points per game as a sophomore last season, moved to California before the basketball season. More than one coach said Swan was the best young player in the TRC.
Manchester coach Gary Goshert, his tie loosened, sat down in front of a locker and was asked if there was any way he expected this team to be 18-2, to win the TRC.
"No, not really," he said. "The thing we talked about was people counting us out. All of a sudden you lose your so-called 'best player' and everybody counts you out. We're not gonna be competitive. Or we may be competitive, but they don't expect us to win many.
"That was something we talked about. I think they got the vibes from me that I just wanted to work that much harder when people started counting us out and not giving us an opportunity. It became a challenge for them right away. It inspired us more than anything else."
That inspiration carried them to a TRC title. Senior center Chris Enyeart and junior guard Rex Reimer scored 17 each against Northfield, while senior forward Heath Simcoe added 15.
The Squires cruised in the first half, taking a 34-18 halftime lead. They had zero turnovers to Northfield's six in the second quarter. Northfield attempted six field goals the second quarter; Manchester made 10. The Squires outscored Northfield 21-8 in the quarter.
Northfield had only two scorers who averaged double figures coming into the game: Coley Schenkel (20 ppg) and Nick Clifton (10 ppg). The duo went off the second half, combining for 30 of Northfield's 37 second-half points. They tallied 18 of Northfield's 22 points in the third quarter, a quarter that saw the Norsemen outscore the Squires 22-10.
Everybody - Goshert, the Manchester players, the Manchester fans - knew what those two could do coming in. When teams play Northfield, they have two worries: Clifton and Schenkel.
"We played extremely well the first half at both ends of the floor," Goshert said. "We came out the third quarter and lost a couple of their shooters a couple of times. They handled the ball better and made their shots. We had a couple of situations we didn't catch passes, and our shots didn't go in."
When Clifton made a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, Northfield trailed only 44-43. But Manchester has some go-to players of its own, and they lifted the Squires when they needed them. Enyeart scored seven and Simcoe six as they combined for 13 of Manchester's 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Squires outrebounded Northfield 10-3 in the fourth quarter.
When Clifton pulled Northfield within one, Simcoe scored to make it 46-43. Schenkel scored to make it 46-45. Simcoe responded to make it 48-45. This time, Simcoe's basket triggered a 7-0 run that put Manchester ahead 53-45.
The Norsemen threatened, but they never could get the defensive stop to take the lead.
"I'm not one who likes to go after moral victories, but it was a moral victory because of what it does for us going into the sectional," Northfield coach Chris Keisling said. "The biggest plus is we did this against the No. 2 team on their home floor, we came back and were in it at the end.
"A 3-15 team took Manchester to the final minutes. Manchester showed why it's a good team. They're a good shooting team, a good passing team."
Northfield dropped to 1-5 in the TRC. Last season Manchester won the TRC title by beating Northfield on its home floor.
"Last year the game we played at the end of the season was for the championship," Goshert said. "We had one loss. Northfield had one loss. Whoever won was the champs.
"Tonight we were going to be co-champs (with 6-1 Oak Hill) or outright champs."
Yes, Goshert said, the Squires lost three key players this season. But they still had Chris Good, Scot Croner, Enyeart and Simcoe - all seniors who are now starters.
"We had a lot of obstacles to overcome this year from the very beginning to things that took place halfway in the season to injuries to sickness," Goshert said. "When teams have seasons like this, it's because they have a strong nucleus of players."
Manchester is at Maconaquah March 3 for the sectional. [[In-content Ad]]