Squires Finish TRC Schedule With Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH WHITLEY - The Manchester Squires boys basketball team scored eight points before the Whitko Wildcats attempted their first shot from the field and held on for a 64-54 win Thursday.
While Whitko made a late charge behind the 17 fourth-quarter points of Brad Smith, it was the first two minutes and change that doomed the Wildcats and first-year head coach Larry Lael.
"It was the start of the game. You just can't get down like that. We just can't find a way to play for 32 minutes. We've done this time in and time out all year," said Lael.
Manchester head coach Gary Goshert is well aware that the quick first quarter start was integral in his team's win.
"The first quarter was huge for us, both offensively and defensively. We shot the ball well and moved the ball well and got some deflections that we converted into baskets," said Goshert. "So coming out of the blocks was big."
The Squires jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game before Whitko's Trent Rowland attempted and converted on the Wildcats' first field goal at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter.
The Wildcats' first four possessions of the game were turnovers as Manchester jumped out early.
The one-two punch of Joe Egner and Nick Poe paced the Squires early and often. Poe scored eight points in the first quarter and ended the night with a team-high 19 points.
Whitko finally had a burst of continuity late in the first half and put together a 5-0 run before Manchester scored the last four points of the half to go into the lockers with a 31-16 lead.
The Wildcats came out of the halftime break and put together another 5-0 run to start the third quarter before Manchester used swift transition offense and an ability to break Whitko's press to respond.
As the game progressed, the Wildcats began to slowly ease into some sustained periods of solid basketball. But with the slow start, Whitko expended a lot of energy just trying to come back.
"(Manchester) does a lot of trapping and they run a lot of people in and out, and he knows we're only six or seven deep, so that works to their advantage," said Lael.
The Squires rotated nine players who all saw significant playing time.
Freshman Dan Bourne and senior Brett Williams combined to offset Whitko size and provide a solid post presence.
The duo combined for five points and seven rebounds.
Poe was the most effective for Manchester on the glass. The 6-foot-3 senior pulled down 10 caroms to go along with his 19 points.
Despite a larger frontline, the Wildcats finished the game with a slight 27-23 rebound advantage.
"Because we are not a good shooting team, one of our goals is to hit the boards. We felt like the last two nights we could go to the offensive boards and we just don't," said Lael.
Despite problems on the glass and from the field, Whitko was still in a position to make things interesting in the final quarter.
Rowland, a freshman, sent the Wildcats into the final eight minutes with a running 35-foot jumper as time expired in the third quarter to move Manchester's lead inside double digits at 42-33.
From that point on, Mr. Smith went to town.
The 5-9, junior guard began the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws then converted on a jumper sandwiched between two Dan Rupley baskets.
Rupley's four points came in the final period.
Smith then hit a long-range three-pointer of his own to leave the Wildcats down 57-46 with 1:26 left to play.
Whitko was forced to foul and hope to hit shots on offensive. While Smith continued to score, Manchester didn't live up to its end as Egner went 7 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:30 to assure the Squire victory.
While Smith was the only Whitko player to finish in double digits, Rupley and Rowland each had nine points while Nate Alspaugh finished the night with five points and 10 rebounds.
Greg Lengel finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for Manchester.
The Wildcats, 4-12 overall, complete their Three Rivers Conference schedule with a 3-4 record and travel to Fort Wayne North Side Tuesday for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
Manchester, 8-9 overall and 5-2 in the TRC, end their conference season in second place and host Heritage Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff. [[In-content Ad]]
SOUTH WHITLEY - The Manchester Squires boys basketball team scored eight points before the Whitko Wildcats attempted their first shot from the field and held on for a 64-54 win Thursday.
While Whitko made a late charge behind the 17 fourth-quarter points of Brad Smith, it was the first two minutes and change that doomed the Wildcats and first-year head coach Larry Lael.
"It was the start of the game. You just can't get down like that. We just can't find a way to play for 32 minutes. We've done this time in and time out all year," said Lael.
Manchester head coach Gary Goshert is well aware that the quick first quarter start was integral in his team's win.
"The first quarter was huge for us, both offensively and defensively. We shot the ball well and moved the ball well and got some deflections that we converted into baskets," said Goshert. "So coming out of the blocks was big."
The Squires jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game before Whitko's Trent Rowland attempted and converted on the Wildcats' first field goal at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter.
The Wildcats' first four possessions of the game were turnovers as Manchester jumped out early.
The one-two punch of Joe Egner and Nick Poe paced the Squires early and often. Poe scored eight points in the first quarter and ended the night with a team-high 19 points.
Whitko finally had a burst of continuity late in the first half and put together a 5-0 run before Manchester scored the last four points of the half to go into the lockers with a 31-16 lead.
The Wildcats came out of the halftime break and put together another 5-0 run to start the third quarter before Manchester used swift transition offense and an ability to break Whitko's press to respond.
As the game progressed, the Wildcats began to slowly ease into some sustained periods of solid basketball. But with the slow start, Whitko expended a lot of energy just trying to come back.
"(Manchester) does a lot of trapping and they run a lot of people in and out, and he knows we're only six or seven deep, so that works to their advantage," said Lael.
The Squires rotated nine players who all saw significant playing time.
Freshman Dan Bourne and senior Brett Williams combined to offset Whitko size and provide a solid post presence.
The duo combined for five points and seven rebounds.
Poe was the most effective for Manchester on the glass. The 6-foot-3 senior pulled down 10 caroms to go along with his 19 points.
Despite a larger frontline, the Wildcats finished the game with a slight 27-23 rebound advantage.
"Because we are not a good shooting team, one of our goals is to hit the boards. We felt like the last two nights we could go to the offensive boards and we just don't," said Lael.
Despite problems on the glass and from the field, Whitko was still in a position to make things interesting in the final quarter.
Rowland, a freshman, sent the Wildcats into the final eight minutes with a running 35-foot jumper as time expired in the third quarter to move Manchester's lead inside double digits at 42-33.
From that point on, Mr. Smith went to town.
The 5-9, junior guard began the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws then converted on a jumper sandwiched between two Dan Rupley baskets.
Rupley's four points came in the final period.
Smith then hit a long-range three-pointer of his own to leave the Wildcats down 57-46 with 1:26 left to play.
Whitko was forced to foul and hope to hit shots on offensive. While Smith continued to score, Manchester didn't live up to its end as Egner went 7 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:30 to assure the Squire victory.
While Smith was the only Whitko player to finish in double digits, Rupley and Rowland each had nine points while Nate Alspaugh finished the night with five points and 10 rebounds.
Greg Lengel finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for Manchester.
The Wildcats, 4-12 overall, complete their Three Rivers Conference schedule with a 3-4 record and travel to Fort Wayne North Side Tuesday for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
Manchester, 8-9 overall and 5-2 in the TRC, end their conference season in second place and host Heritage Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff. [[In-content Ad]]