NORTH MANCHESTER — Manchester High School sophomore Chase Fierstos came up pretty big Wednesday in Class 2A Sectional 37 action against Southwood. Scoring eight of his team-high 19 points in the final quarter, Fierstos pushed the Squires (17-5) past the Southwood Knights 53-44. Manchester, the sectional host, will face No. 7 Lewis Cass (18-2) Friday night following the 6 p.m. Northfield/Oak Hill game. Along with leading the team in scoring, Fierstos also posted a team-high three steals and two blocks, while his three assists matched senior Phoenix Goad. With his team down 40-35 going into the fourth quarter, Fierstos hit a bucket at the 7:05 mark to cut the lead to 40-37, and senior Claudel Dickantone then got a basket off a Southwood turnover, followed by a Fierstos trey off another Knights’ turnover, nabbing a 42-40 lead. It was Manchester’s first lead since it was 16-15 with 6:36 to play in the second quarter. “Fierstos killed us late in the game, because he made transition baskets and that game was not a transition game – it was a halfcourt, grind-out game,” Southwood coach John Burrus said. “So the few (transition baskets) they got were huge, because we got very few of those.” While Fierstos was hot late, it was Southwood senior Corey Phillipy that was untouchable early. Through the first two quarters, Phillipy had 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting, but finished the game with 23 points, attempting just four second-half field goals. “At times, they had three or four guys looking at him,” Burrus said. “One guy on him and two guys ready to help on him.” While Manchester did make some halftime adjustments to contain Phillipy, coach Eric Thompson credited the break as much as anything for slowing him down. “They were hitting 60 percent and (Phillipy) had 21, shooting 100 percent,” Thompson said of Southwood’s halftime numbers. “He was hitting tough shots. We were on him and he was hitting and he was wide open and hitting. I’m glad halftime came when it did, to ice him a little bit. “Halftime helped us quite a bit,” he added. “Ten minutes of sitting there is, sometimes, the best defense you can get.” That 10-minute break also helped refocus the Manchester offense, as it only scored six points in the last 10:32 of the first half. The cold spell helped Southwood build its lead to as much as 29-21 with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter, but fortunes changed as Manchester outscored the Knights 32-15 the rest of the way. “I don’t know if these guys love to win or hate to lose, but they showed up and got the job done,” Thompson said. Playing a balanced game, Manchester had a three-headed monster going against Southwood, as Fierstos’ 19 points were followed by Dickantone’s 16 and senior Clayton Petrie’s 15. That balance is hard to come by, but Thompson hopes it continues Friday night against a Lewis Cass team that defeated Wabash 74-60 in Wednesday’s first game. “We’re going to have to have that, and some, to get past Lewis Cass,” he said. “Their firepower and athleticism, top to bottom, is something to be reckoned with.” Despite struggling against Wabash (9-12), leading 61-56 late in the game, Thompson doesn’t believe the true Cass team was on display Wednesday night. “Lewis Cass has seven guys that can score inside and out,” he said. “They’re very athletic. Watching them tonight, and having scouted them, they’re stronger than they look, they’re quicker than they look and they’re very athletic. They’re just real smooth. They know their roles.”
