Woeful Wildcats Drop To 0-8
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH WHITLEY - A matchup between a team that is 5-3 and one that is 0-7 is not usually expected to be much of a basketball game.
However, when the teams playing are Manchester and Whitko, records can be tossed into the trash.
In the end, Manchester came out on top, but not without a fight from a hungry Whitko team. The Squires pulled out a 54-45 victory to improve their record to 6-3 overall and remain undefeated (4-0) in the Three Rivers Conference.
Whitko's Ben Ryan scored the first basket of the evening with 7:00 on the first-quarter clock, but Lee Shafer answered with a basket of his own to knot the score at 2-2.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the first stanza, and after eight minutes of play, Manchester held a slim 16-15 lead behind eight Shafer points.
With 7:45 on the second-quarter clock, J.R. Manuel hit two shots from the charity stripe for the first points of the period, giving Whitko what would be its last lead of the game.
Manchester went on to outscore Whitko 14-5 in the next seven minutes. Shafer finished the first half with 17 points as the Squires took a 30-22 lead into the locker room at the half.
"Shafer killed us in the first half," said Whitko coach Steve Pickett.
After both teams played a strong first half, the third quarter left spectators scratching their heads. Whitko was 1-for-9 shooting for just two points, while Manchester was 2-of-8 shooting for only four points in the stanza.
However, both teams got back on the right track in the fourth quarter.
Manchester built an 11-point lead early in the final period, but Whitko mounted a comeback. With 2:24 left in regulation, Whitko's Shane Henderson sank a three-pointer from near the half-court line to cut Manchester's lead to five.
Whitko reduced Manchester's lead to four when Adam Wendel hit two free throws to make the score 46-42, but that was as close as the Squires would allow the Wildcats to get.
"We talked about defending them and not cracking," said Manchester coach Gary Goshert. "Mentally, we had to be tough and we had to continue to handle the press and be aggressive."
David Bazzoni nailed 4 of 5 free throws along with a basket in the final minute of play as Manchester outscored Whitko 8-3.
"Bazzoni had a big fourth quarter," said Goshert. "He did a lot of ball handling and hit some big free throws."
With the 54-45 victory, Manchester improves to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in the TRC, while Whitko falls to 0-8 and 0-3 TRC. Whitko will try to regroup when the Wildcats face winless Wabash tonight. Manchester has the night off.
"Tonight was a total team effort," said Goshert. "We knew Whitko was a good team, and they are really on an uptick. They played tough the two games before this one, and they are becoming comfortable with their team. Whitko is scrappy and they don't give up."
"It would have been easy for the kids to give up, but they didn't," said Pickett. "We are trying make a tradition and get this program back to what it was in the past. That's important, but first we've just got to get the job done."
MANCHESTER 54, WHITKO 45
Manchester 16 14 4 20 - 54
Whitko 15 7 2 21 - 45
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
*Ryan F 2-4 2-2 2 0 4
*Goble F 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
*Manuel C 2-7 3-4 10 0 7
*Wendel G 2-4 3-4 2 0 8
*Henderson G 5-16 2-2 3 3 14
Waller 0-4 0-0 1 0 0
Howard 2-5 4-6 3 0 10
Frantz 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Clausen 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 14-39 14-18 25 3 45
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
*Shafer F 9-14 2-4 3 1 21
*Lochner F 1-4 2-2 7 0 4
*A. Sorg G 1-1 1-2 1 0 3
*Frieden G 2-3 2-2 4 0 7
*Bazzoni G 3-6 9-11 2 1 16
Bechtold 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
Kerr 1-5 1-2 4 1 3
Miller 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
Totals 17-37 17-24 23 4 54
Three-point goals -ÊWhitko 3-15 (Wendel 1-1, Henderson 2-7, Waller 0-5, Ryan 0-2), Manchester 3-5 (Shafer 1-1, Frieden 1-1, Bazzoni 1-2, Bechtold 0-2). Total fouls -ÊWhitko 22, Manchester 16. Fouled out -ÊShafer. Turnovers -ÊWhitko 9, Manchester 12.
JV -ÊMANCHESTER 42, WHITKO 40
Manchester -ÊM. Sorg 14, Stoops 2, Westendorf 2, Dale 10, Haynes 4, Simcoe 2, Rupley 8
Whitko -ÊGarber 14, Lopshire 2, Frantz 18, Robbins 4, Woods 2 [[In-content Ad]]
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SOUTH WHITLEY - A matchup between a team that is 5-3 and one that is 0-7 is not usually expected to be much of a basketball game.
However, when the teams playing are Manchester and Whitko, records can be tossed into the trash.
In the end, Manchester came out on top, but not without a fight from a hungry Whitko team. The Squires pulled out a 54-45 victory to improve their record to 6-3 overall and remain undefeated (4-0) in the Three Rivers Conference.
Whitko's Ben Ryan scored the first basket of the evening with 7:00 on the first-quarter clock, but Lee Shafer answered with a basket of his own to knot the score at 2-2.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the first stanza, and after eight minutes of play, Manchester held a slim 16-15 lead behind eight Shafer points.
With 7:45 on the second-quarter clock, J.R. Manuel hit two shots from the charity stripe for the first points of the period, giving Whitko what would be its last lead of the game.
Manchester went on to outscore Whitko 14-5 in the next seven minutes. Shafer finished the first half with 17 points as the Squires took a 30-22 lead into the locker room at the half.
"Shafer killed us in the first half," said Whitko coach Steve Pickett.
After both teams played a strong first half, the third quarter left spectators scratching their heads. Whitko was 1-for-9 shooting for just two points, while Manchester was 2-of-8 shooting for only four points in the stanza.
However, both teams got back on the right track in the fourth quarter.
Manchester built an 11-point lead early in the final period, but Whitko mounted a comeback. With 2:24 left in regulation, Whitko's Shane Henderson sank a three-pointer from near the half-court line to cut Manchester's lead to five.
Whitko reduced Manchester's lead to four when Adam Wendel hit two free throws to make the score 46-42, but that was as close as the Squires would allow the Wildcats to get.
"We talked about defending them and not cracking," said Manchester coach Gary Goshert. "Mentally, we had to be tough and we had to continue to handle the press and be aggressive."
David Bazzoni nailed 4 of 5 free throws along with a basket in the final minute of play as Manchester outscored Whitko 8-3.
"Bazzoni had a big fourth quarter," said Goshert. "He did a lot of ball handling and hit some big free throws."
With the 54-45 victory, Manchester improves to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in the TRC, while Whitko falls to 0-8 and 0-3 TRC. Whitko will try to regroup when the Wildcats face winless Wabash tonight. Manchester has the night off.
"Tonight was a total team effort," said Goshert. "We knew Whitko was a good team, and they are really on an uptick. They played tough the two games before this one, and they are becoming comfortable with their team. Whitko is scrappy and they don't give up."
"It would have been easy for the kids to give up, but they didn't," said Pickett. "We are trying make a tradition and get this program back to what it was in the past. That's important, but first we've just got to get the job done."
MANCHESTER 54, WHITKO 45
Manchester 16 14 4 20 - 54
Whitko 15 7 2 21 - 45
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
*Ryan F 2-4 2-2 2 0 4
*Goble F 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
*Manuel C 2-7 3-4 10 0 7
*Wendel G 2-4 3-4 2 0 8
*Henderson G 5-16 2-2 3 3 14
Waller 0-4 0-0 1 0 0
Howard 2-5 4-6 3 0 10
Frantz 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Clausen 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 14-39 14-18 25 3 45
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
*Shafer F 9-14 2-4 3 1 21
*Lochner F 1-4 2-2 7 0 4
*A. Sorg G 1-1 1-2 1 0 3
*Frieden G 2-3 2-2 4 0 7
*Bazzoni G 3-6 9-11 2 1 16
Bechtold 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
Kerr 1-5 1-2 4 1 3
Miller 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
Totals 17-37 17-24 23 4 54
Three-point goals -ÊWhitko 3-15 (Wendel 1-1, Henderson 2-7, Waller 0-5, Ryan 0-2), Manchester 3-5 (Shafer 1-1, Frieden 1-1, Bazzoni 1-2, Bechtold 0-2). Total fouls -ÊWhitko 22, Manchester 16. Fouled out -ÊShafer. Turnovers -ÊWhitko 9, Manchester 12.
JV -ÊMANCHESTER 42, WHITKO 40
Manchester -ÊM. Sorg 14, Stoops 2, Westendorf 2, Dale 10, Haynes 4, Simcoe 2, Rupley 8
Whitko -ÊGarber 14, Lopshire 2, Frantz 18, Robbins 4, Woods 2 [[In-content Ad]]