After years of early playoff exits, the Manchester boys basketball team finally broke through last weekend, winning its first sectional championship since the 1994-95 season. Now, the Squires turn their attention to the regional round, where they will look to capture the first regional title since 1993-1994.
Manchester (22-2) took home the hardware in impressive fashion last week. Playing in the Wabash sectional for the first time after spending the last few years with the likes of Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Bluffton, South Adams, Whitko and Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (now in 3A), the Squres made the most of their new home. The team cruised past Rochester 71-46 in the semifinal round after recieving a bye before demolishing Oak Hill 70-38 in the championship game.
“They were ecstatic that they were able to win,” head coach Eli Henson said. “This has been their goal since day one and for them to finally accomplish that, I was very proud and happy fo0r them.”
Leading the way for Manchester in the sectional round were the two usual suspects: senior guard Ethan Hendrix and senior forward Gavin Betten. Both players had big games and had their fingerprints all over both victories. In the semifinal, Hendrix had a game-high 23 points, shot 5-6 from three and stole the ball six times.
In the championship game, Betten stole the show, outscoring his opponent himself with a career-high 40 points to the Golden Eagles’ 38. He did it extremely effeciently too, shooting a blistering 84% (16-19). He didn’t stop there, as he also pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked five shots.
“I have confidence in not only them but the entire team. When one of them get it going early in a game and add that with some of our other players contributing as well, we know it’s going to be a successful night for us,” Henson said. “Gavin and Ethan have meant so much to this team this season ansd they’ve been so consistent. Even on a night where one of them isn’t having a great offensive game, they always do a great job on the defensive end and help us win games.”
Now, the Squires will turn their attention to the regional round, where they will face the Tipton Blue Devils (19-6), winners of four straight sectional championships. While the team has had plenty of success in the opening round of the state tournament, the regional has been somewhat of a roadblock, as the Blue Devils have fallen in this round in each of the last three seasons. Outside of a three-game losing streak at the end of January, the team has been playing great ball as of late, winners of their last eight.
Tipton is led by 6’6” guard Grady Carpenter, who does a little bit of everything for his team. His 21.6 points per game are the highest on the roster by over eleven points, and he’s able to get them extremely effeciently, shooting 48%. He also leads the team in rebounds (8.0), Assists (6.7) and blocks (1.3). His main wingman is fellow senior Sam Quigley, who is second in all of these categories, while also leading the team in steals (1.6).
“Tipton is a very good team that takes a lot of threes and hits them at a high rate. Grady is going to be one of the best players we will have played this season,” Henson said. “He is going to be a tough matchup for us but I feel like we will do a great job making him work for every point he gets. We have to get them to play at a tempo that favors us and we will have to be able to get the ball out quickly in transition.”
The Squires and the Blue Devils will square off at Logansport High School on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. The game will serve as an appetizer for the 4A showdown beteween Homestead and Carroll (Fort Wayne), scheduled for 7 p.m.