NORTH MANCHESTER – It may sound cliché, but the third time, or more appropriately the third season, has been a charm for coach Eric Thompson and his Manchester boys basketball team. Thompson and the Squires hope their fortunes continue this week as they enter sectional play in the 104th annual IHSAA state tournament. Manchester hosts Class 2A Sectional 37 and plays Wabash County and Three Rivers Conference rival Southwood Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. In the opening game of the seven-team sectional, North Miami and Oak Hill square off Tuesday, while Wabash and Lewis Cass play the first game on Wednesday. In Friday’s first game, Northfield plays either North Miami or Oak Hill, followed by Wednesday’s winners. The sectional championship game is scheduled for Saturday night, with the winner advancing to the Lapel Regional to play the winner of the Lapel Sectional. “I really like the draw we earned,” said Thompson, who has helped rejuvenate the Manchester program after a decade of losing records. “Southwood is playing well right now. They have some tools in place. If we can stop them offensively and defensively, that will help us move into the next game.” Manchester is 6-1 this season against the rest of the sectional field, with the lone loss being a 63-56 loss at Wabash on Dec. 27 in the County Tournament. The Squires also played at Wabash on Jan. 17, beating the Apaches 51-48 in overtime in regular season action. Southwood is 5-2 against the rest of the field, while Oak Hill is 3-2. Lewis Cass is 2-0 against fellow Sectional 37 teams and 7-0 against Class 2A teams. “I feel like any team can win it, with us being one of them,” said Thompson. “I do feel like Lewis Cass is the favorite. They do a lot of good things on both ends of the floor. I think Wabash is really solid team. We split with them. “On the other side of the bracket, North Miami is playing well right now, so is Oak Hill,” added Thompson. Manchester enters sectional play with a 15-5 record. It’s the Squires’ first winning season since going 12-10 in the 2001-2002 campaign, and the most wins since posting a 15-7 record in 1998-1999. Both those Manchester teams were coached by Gary Goshert. The Squires haven’t won a sectional title since current Northfield coach Moe Smedley led them to the championship in the single-class format in 1995. For the past decade, the tradition-rich Manchester program has endured one losing season after another. That is until now. Thompson and his assistants have the Squires on the right path, as they have gone from four wins in his first season, to seven last year to 15 this year. “That’s a testament to the boys working their tails off,” said the always humble and soft-spoken Thompson. “The boys bought into what we’re doing. They believe in each other and the coaching staff. Everyone has worked hard, and we have our system in place all the way down to the fourth grade level.” This season’s varsity team is led by the trio of seniors Claudel Dickantone and Clayton Petrie and sophomore Chase Fierstos. Dickantone averages 16 points and nearly five rebounds per game, while Petrie averages 13 points and five boards and Fierstos averages 12 points and three boards per game. “Claudel Dickantone, Clayton Petrie and Chase Fierstos are our top three scorers,” said Thompson. “We have about 10 guys that have been playing well. We need to have all those guys continue to give us big minutes and continue to do their roles.”
