Maconaquah Stuns No. 2 Manchester

BUNKER HILL - Twenty-five feet out.

Twenty-five feet out Maconaquah players shot the basketball, and Manchester coach Gary Goshert and his players had seen nothing like it. The Braves treated 25-foot shots past the top of the key like layups.

Maconaquah, which was not ranked but received votes in the latest 2A poll, beat No. 2 Manchester 75-61 in Tuesday's first round of the Maconaquah Sectional. Manchester ended the season 18-3, while Maconaquah upped its record to 18-3.

This season Maconaquah beat Northwestern on the road when the Tigers were ranked No. 1 in 2A, and now they have beaten Manchester. Afterward jubilant Maconaquah coach Rick Clark gave high-fives to fans and started the interview by asking: "Do we have questions, or do I just start rattling?"

Here's a question. How about beating a team ranked second in the state?

"We like not being ranked," Clark said. "Don't put me in there. The only good ranking is the tournament. That's the only good ranking there is."

Indeed, the intangibles worked against the Squires: The No. 2 ranking - every team wants to be The Team That Pulled Off The Upset. Playing Maconaquah on its home court, where the Braves lost only once all year, by five points to Eastbrook, a game they were missing 6-8 center Matt Carver. Playing where students painted their faces white with a blue streak down each cheek and wore combat fatigues and white disposable gloves (to wave and distract on free throws) and packed the stands under the basket and chanted things like "Kill the referee." Playing Maconaquah, the team the Squires hosted and beat 59-52 in the first game of the season.

Yes, the Braves remembered.

When a reporter mentioned that Manchester won the first game by seven, Clark replied: "We were down 22, though. We were down 41-19. Those numbers are kind of seared in my brain."

The Braves took 38 shots in this game and hit 25 for 66 percent. The Squires knew who Maconaquah's three scorers were coming in: Eddie Dickman, Tim Maiben and Nick Maple.

They knew them, but they couldn't stop them. Dickman scored 20, Maple 18 and Maiben 15.

"They were awfully comfortable out there," Goshert said. "The home court was a big advantage, but they're an extremely good team. We knew they shot well. We didn't think they'd shoot that well."

The Braves knocked down 6 of 10 three-pointers in the first half -Êall but one coming halfway between the top of the key and halfcourt - to take a 30-19 halftime lead.

"The threes were a concern," Goshert said. "We talked about it all week. We talked about the depth of their threes, too. I think that was probably as unusual and most difficult thing to adjust to, the depth of their threes. Even though we talked about 25-footers ... There's not a team we played all year long that shoots the ball from that distance.

"It took us a while to adjust to their range."

Said Clark: "(Manchester) played a zone. I was more surprised than anybody in this gym. I've seen them play zone maybe on an out-of-bounds play, but it was usually always man-to-man, which is what they went to.

"It gave us some open threes, and we like to shoot threes. I like it when we make 'em, too, but the kids are going to shoot 'em regardless if they're open."

The Squires? The whisper in coaching circles all year long has been this: Yeah, the Squires have a good record, but they still don't have that pure shooter, and they don't shoot the ball as well on the road.

The Squires played 11 road games. Of those 11 teams, only three finished with winning records. Manchester went 2-1 against those teams.

Goshert acknowledged earlier in the season his team struggled on the road, but he said last week those problems were finished after three good road wins at the end of the season.

The troubles cropped up against Maconaquah. While Maconaquah hit 12 of 20 field goals and 6 of 10 three-pointers the first half, Manchester hit 8 of 27 and 1 of 10 three-pointers. Manchester finished the game making only 7 of 28 three-pointers, 25 percent.

Even down 11 at half, the Squires battled. Guard Chris Good, who scored none the first half, tallied 17 the second half. He scored nine in the third quarter then tacked on five more to start the fourth to pull Manchester within 51-43. Fellow guard Rex Reimer then hit a three-pointer, and the Squires trailed by six at 52-46 with 4:54 left, the closest they had been since the first quarter.

Then "the play" happened.

Right after Manchester cut the deficit to six, Dickman airballed a three. Michael Hendrix and the other Squires, so sure the ball was going out of bounds, let it go.

Maconaquah's Jeremy Daugherty didn't.

Daugherty dove through the air out of bounds, horizontal to the floor, and flipped the ball behind his back ... and right into the hands of teammate Maiben. Maiben hit the layup, drew a foul and made the free throw.

Maconaquah upped its lead to 55-46 with 4:36 left. More importantly, the Braves upped the decibel level of the fans and had them back in the game after Manchester's rally.

"I walked into the locker room," Clark said. "This was very mature of the kids, I think. First thing they said was, 'We're here to win a sectional, not a game.' I thought, 'OK. I like that.' Then they said the play of the game was Jeremy Daugherty's. I think Manchester had cut it to six. It looked like we threw it away. But Jeremy dives out of bounds, and we get a three-point play. Daugherty's the only kid I didn't take out. I couldn't afford to take him out."

Goshert agreed with Clark's assessment.

"We get the ball game down to six points," he said. "They miss a shot that was defended extremely well. And then they make a gigantic play -ÊI think the biggest play of the game. The threes were difficult to contend with, but I think that one play was the biggest play of the game."

And that's how the night went for the Squires. Even after they began making some shots, they could never get the two or three key defensive stops. Maconaquah finished the game 8 of 14 behind the three-point line, 57 percent.

Six-foot-four senior center Chris Enyeart led Manchester with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Goshert spent much time talking with his players and coaches in the locker room before he emerged for interviews. Last week he said this team went beyond expectations further than any other team he had coached in his 18 years.

This Manchester team has been special to Goshert.

"I want to give our kids a lot of credit, too," he said. "Nobody thought they'd be even half this good. You guys have no clue how proud I am of our team. I've never been involved with a group like this group. We just played a tough, tough team tonight. That's all.

"You can't avoid it (losing). Unless you win the Tournament of Champions, you're gonna have this feeling. It's disheartening, and it's enough to make you sick to your stomach.

"Once you're ranked, people are going to give you their best shot. We've adjusted and readjusted throughout. It's been one fantastic season, I'll tell you that right now. It's second to none, as far as I'm concerned, with all the coaching I've been involved with."