NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊAfter practicing with as few as 10 players on the JV and varsity squads due to illness last week, the Manchester Squires had to face a conference opponent Friday and a tough Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger squad Saturday.

The Squires were hoping to bounce back against Dwenger after falling to North Miami, but that was not in the cards. Manchester (6-5) fell 62-53 to the Saints.

Manchester jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but Dwenger fought back to tie the score at 6-6. A steal by Jon Filler led to a basket by Mike Hopen and an 8-6 Dwenger lead.

However, the Squires were not ready to give in. Chris Lochner netted a basket to tie the score at 8-8, and then Anthony Frieden sank two charity shots and then netted a basket to build a 12-8 lead.

But then Dwenger started to make a run. The Saints outscored the Squires 9-2 in the final 2:30 of the first quarter to take a 17-14 lead into the second frame.

Manchester got as close as one point in the second quarter after David Bazzoni hit two free throws to make the score 19-18. But Dwenger took control once again and built a 28-23 lead into the locker room at the half.

"I think the key to the game was the second quarter," said Dwenger coach Matt Kostoff. "At the end of the first quarter, (John) Gensic and (Mike) Hopen had two fouls each, and we had some kids come off the bench. Our bench players did a great job to keep us in the lead.

"For us, the key to keeping the lead was keeping fresh players in the game."

Dwenger started the second half on the right foot by scoring the first two baskets of the third quarter. The Saints went on to outscore Manchester 17-14 in the third frame and take a 45-37 lead into the final quarter of play.

Lochner caught fire in the fourth quarter. He hit the first four Squire baskets to cut Dwenger's lead to two points, 47-45.

However, two points was as close as the Squires would get to the Saints. Dwenger went on to outscore Manchester 15-8 in the last 3:10 to win the game 62-53.

"We knew they would make a run, Manchester always does," said Kostoff. "Manchester got hot in the second half, and we lost track of Lochner for a while in the fourth. Our kids stayed tough and played strong to come out with the win."

"Last night against North Miami, we were not on the same page," said Manchester coach Gary Goshert. "It was good to see the team fight back and play with the intensity we needed to play with to compete with a team like Bishop Dwenger.

"I can live with this performance."

BISHOP DWENGER 62

MANCHESTER 53

Dwenger 17 11 17 17 - 62

Manchester 14 9 14 16 - 53

Dwenger FG FT R S Pts.

*Gensic F 3-9 3-4 1 0 12

*Hopen G 2-3 4-5 2 0 8

*O'Leary F 8-14 2-3 9 3 19

*Hoffman C 4-4 1-1 3 0 9

*Filler G 4-9 2-2 1 3 12

Felts 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Mosser 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Keys 0-2 0-0 1 0 0

Nahrwold 0-1 0-0 0 1 0

Parrish 0-0 2-2 1 0 2

Totals 21-42 14-17 19 8 62

Manchester FG FT R S Pts.

*Shafer F 5-9 2-2 4 0 12

*Bazzoni G 1-2 3-4 0 1 5

*Frieden G 3-5 2-2 2 3 8

*Bechtold G 4-10 0-0 1 0 10

*Lochner F 7-13 0-0 6 0 14

Kerr 1-3 0-0 2 1 2

Miller 0-2 2-2 2 2 2

A. Sorg 0-2 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 21-46 9-10 17 7 53

Three-point goals -ÊManchester 2 (Bechtold 2), Dwenger 6 (Gensic 3, O'Leary 1, Filler 2). Turnovers -ÊManchester 14, Dwenger 18. Total fouls -ÊManchester 20, Dwenger 13. Fouled out -Ênone.

JV - MANCHESTER 51, DWENGER 34

Manchester leaders -ÊStoops 20 points, Westendorf 7 points, Dale 9 points, Sorg 5 points, Rupley 5 points, Haynes 2 points, Simcoe 6 points.

Dwenger leaders -ÊRockman 14 points, Doloresco 3 points, Voors 2 points, Ondecker 4 points, Wehrly 8 points, Oxley 8 points. [[In-content Ad]]