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NORTH MANCHESTER - The final score between Manchester and Oak Hill's basketball teams Friday night was 62-45.
One team had an Indiana University recruit.
One team didn't.
Manchester - a team with no likely Division I recruits - toyed with IU-bound Jarrad Odle and Oak Hill to win 62-45.
Coaches talk about big games. For once, this truly qualified. With the win, the Squires improved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. With the loss, the Golden Eagles fell to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the TRC.
The Squires, who won the TRC last season, are the only team left without a conference loss.
So dominant were the Squires, they put this one away by halftime.
The 6-foot-9 Odle, who entered 13th in the state with 25 points per game, settled for 15. He had only four points at halftime then looked very little like a Division I recruit when he turned the ball over five times late in the third and the fourth quarters.
Dropped passes, travels ... you name the turnover, Odle did it. The Squires took Odle out by letting several players - Steve Fawcett, Chris Enyeart, Heath Simcoe and Scot Croner - take turns guarding him.
"We didn't want Jarrad to go crazy on us," Manchester coach Gary Goshert said.
He didn't. And while Odle was a non-factor, the Squires' shooting was definitely a factor. For the second straight game, Manchester shot better than 60 percent from the field the first half.
Manchester, ranked No. 5 in Class 2A, hit 9 of 11 field goal attempts the first quarter and 18 of 28 the first half. The Squires won this one in the second quarter, when they made 9 of 17 shots and outscored Oak Hill 18-5. Manchester's nine makes were eight better than Oak Hill, which made only 1 of 12 shots in the quarter.
Rex Reimer and Croner had the hot hands for the Squires the first quarter. Reimer scored eight, and Croner hit two three-pointers for six. Chris Good then took over the second quarter, scoring 10 points.
The Squires torched the Golden Eagles' passive zone defense early by knocking down their perimeter shots.
"I thought the first quarter, we attacked their half-court defense extremely well," Goshert said. "The key was the defensive end of the floor, getting the stops, then getting out and pushing the basketball and converting in transition. We had more defensive stops the second quarter."
The Squires shot better than 60 percent from the field in the first half of last Saturday's 61-40 win over Wabash.
"I don't know what to tell you, other than the kids are getting more confident at the offensive end of the floor," Goshert said. "One of the things we've talked about the last couple of weeks is pulling the trigger without any second thoughts. As we do that, I think we'll shoot the ball fairly well."
Manchester led 41-22 at halftime, then Goshert pulled on the reins the second half. Instead of looking for the quick score, the Squires were content to hold the ball.
The Squires took it easy on Odle and the Golden Eagles.
"You get to that point in the second half, you can play against the clock a little bit," Goshert said. "But you have to get (the big lead) early to get the opportunity to do those things."
While Oak Hill had Odle, the Golden Eagles were missing two starters - junior point guard Kyle Wert and senior guard Nick Baumbaugh - to injuries.
The Squires host Marion and former Manchester coach Moe Smedley at 6:30 this evening. Marion is ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A poll.
