Squires Advance To Sectional Final
March 4, 2017 at 7:34 a.m.
By Ryan Villanueva-
There was a bit more at stake this time around, however, as the teams met in the semifinal round of the Class 2A sectional at Oak Hill High School Friday night
Led by Mason Hamby’s 19 points, the Squires took care of business and defeated Rochester 59-36.
“I felt like my main job after we were able to advance was to make sure that they didn’t take this team lightly and to make sure that they didn’t look at the season game and think that this was going to be a cakewalk,” said Manchester coach Mark Underwood. “That’s not the way it is in the sectionals. You can throw almost everything sometimes that happens during the season out the window. We were really working on making sure that these guys were focused, and not only gave a great physical effort but gave a great mental effort, and I think they did that tonight.”
Pouring in contributions were David McAtee (12 points, 4 rebounds) and Kamdyn Lester (11 points, 3 rebounds). As a team, the Squires shot 55 percent from the floor, while holding the Zebras to just 30 percent. Manchester also out-rebounded Rochester 37-22, which proved to be a key factor in the win.
“We’ve always felt like that offense can come and go. Sometimes shots fall, sometimes they don’t. But the one thing you ought to be able to do every night is to play good, solid defense,” said Underwood. “We have a team approach – we know that we’re not overly big, we know that we can’t match up to a lot of people, but we feel like that if we can do it as a team and bring help – whether we’re in a zone or man-to-man, that we can be effective. The guys bought into that, and I think that was effective tonight.”
Hamby was hot-handed from the start, scoring the game’s first seven points. Hamby’s seven first-quarter points matched Rochester’s team scoring after the first quarter. The Squires continued their offensive attack in the second quarter, ending the first half on an 11-0 run to put themselves up 24-12 by the intermission.
The Squires turned up the heat in the third quarter, doubling their first-half points in the eight-minute quarter alone.
In the fourth quarter, turnovers held Rochester back from gaining any sort of momentum, thus putting the game out of reach.
The Squires face Southwood in the sectional championship tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Knights upset third-ranked Oak Hill 60-52 in the other semifinal.
Underwood knows his team has faced tough competition down the stretch of the regular season, but he will not be too worried about Southwood until later tonight.
“The guys are playing with confidence right now. I think that when you’re not shooting well sometimes that’s because mentally you’re unsure of what’s going on out there,” said Underwood. “We’ve tried to give them freedom and we’ve tried to explain to them that as long as you play within the framework of what we’re trying to do, we want you to be a ballplayer out there and to take what’s open. Right now, I think they’re making some pretty good decisions and that’s leading to a high field goal percentage.”
MANCHESTER 59, ROCHESTER 36
R 7 5 12 12 – 36
M 13 11 24 11 – 59
Rochester – Jacob Nigh 3-11 1-2 8, Austin Utter 3-7 0-0 7, Brady Perez 2-10 1-3 5, Zachary Dishon 2-7 0-0 5, Ben Perez 2-4 0-0 4, Jordan Reinholt 1-8 0-0 3, Liam Leininger 1-1 0-0 2, Corbyn Wood 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 15-50 2-5 36.
Manchester – Mason Hamby 8-12 2-2 19, David McAtee 5-11 2-2 12, Kamdyn Lester 5-8 0-0 11, Koehl Fluke 3-5 0-0 8, Adam Byers 2-5 0-0 4, Kane Gable 1-1 1-3 3, Brayden Casper 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-42 5-11 59.
Three-pointers – Rochester 4 (Nigh, Utter, Reinholt, Dishon), Manchester 4 (Fluke 2, Hamby, Lester); Rebounds – Rochester 22, Manchester 30 (Hamby 7); Turnovers – Rochester 17, Manchester 16; Fouls – Rochester 15, Manchester 8; Fouled out – none; Records: Rochester 5-17, Manchester 8-16
There was a bit more at stake this time around, however, as the teams met in the semifinal round of the Class 2A sectional at Oak Hill High School Friday night
Led by Mason Hamby’s 19 points, the Squires took care of business and defeated Rochester 59-36.
“I felt like my main job after we were able to advance was to make sure that they didn’t take this team lightly and to make sure that they didn’t look at the season game and think that this was going to be a cakewalk,” said Manchester coach Mark Underwood. “That’s not the way it is in the sectionals. You can throw almost everything sometimes that happens during the season out the window. We were really working on making sure that these guys were focused, and not only gave a great physical effort but gave a great mental effort, and I think they did that tonight.”
Pouring in contributions were David McAtee (12 points, 4 rebounds) and Kamdyn Lester (11 points, 3 rebounds). As a team, the Squires shot 55 percent from the floor, while holding the Zebras to just 30 percent. Manchester also out-rebounded Rochester 37-22, which proved to be a key factor in the win.
“We’ve always felt like that offense can come and go. Sometimes shots fall, sometimes they don’t. But the one thing you ought to be able to do every night is to play good, solid defense,” said Underwood. “We have a team approach – we know that we’re not overly big, we know that we can’t match up to a lot of people, but we feel like that if we can do it as a team and bring help – whether we’re in a zone or man-to-man, that we can be effective. The guys bought into that, and I think that was effective tonight.”
Hamby was hot-handed from the start, scoring the game’s first seven points. Hamby’s seven first-quarter points matched Rochester’s team scoring after the first quarter. The Squires continued their offensive attack in the second quarter, ending the first half on an 11-0 run to put themselves up 24-12 by the intermission.
The Squires turned up the heat in the third quarter, doubling their first-half points in the eight-minute quarter alone.
In the fourth quarter, turnovers held Rochester back from gaining any sort of momentum, thus putting the game out of reach.
The Squires face Southwood in the sectional championship tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Knights upset third-ranked Oak Hill 60-52 in the other semifinal.
Underwood knows his team has faced tough competition down the stretch of the regular season, but he will not be too worried about Southwood until later tonight.
“The guys are playing with confidence right now. I think that when you’re not shooting well sometimes that’s because mentally you’re unsure of what’s going on out there,” said Underwood. “We’ve tried to give them freedom and we’ve tried to explain to them that as long as you play within the framework of what we’re trying to do, we want you to be a ballplayer out there and to take what’s open. Right now, I think they’re making some pretty good decisions and that’s leading to a high field goal percentage.”
MANCHESTER 59, ROCHESTER 36
R 7 5 12 12 – 36
M 13 11 24 11 – 59
Rochester – Jacob Nigh 3-11 1-2 8, Austin Utter 3-7 0-0 7, Brady Perez 2-10 1-3 5, Zachary Dishon 2-7 0-0 5, Ben Perez 2-4 0-0 4, Jordan Reinholt 1-8 0-0 3, Liam Leininger 1-1 0-0 2, Corbyn Wood 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 15-50 2-5 36.
Manchester – Mason Hamby 8-12 2-2 19, David McAtee 5-11 2-2 12, Kamdyn Lester 5-8 0-0 11, Koehl Fluke 3-5 0-0 8, Adam Byers 2-5 0-0 4, Kane Gable 1-1 1-3 3, Brayden Casper 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-42 5-11 59.
Three-pointers – Rochester 4 (Nigh, Utter, Reinholt, Dishon), Manchester 4 (Fluke 2, Hamby, Lester); Rebounds – Rochester 22, Manchester 30 (Hamby 7); Turnovers – Rochester 17, Manchester 16; Fouls – Rochester 15, Manchester 8; Fouled out – none; Records: Rochester 5-17, Manchester 8-16
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