NORTH MANCHESTER – Northfield High School boys basketball coach Moe Smedley understands the oft-time used phrase “a good offense is a good defense.” His Norse, improving to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in the Three Rivers Conference with a 64-52 win over rival Manchester Friday, took advantage of a strong transition game and key buckets to kill several Squire comeback attempts. The trio of senior guard Collin Dawes, junior center Jon Richardson and senior guard Ryan Keaffaber sparked the victory, as Dawes tallied 22 points, Richardson ended with 17 and Keaffaber wound up with 10. Sophomore forward Tanner Wilcox added to the balance with 10 points of his own. “I want to see us be that balanced each time out,” Smedley said. “I feel like when we get out and our transition game is going well, as it was at times tonight, we can be a strong team. It’s great to have the experience of Dawes and Keaffaber back after they were our top two scorers a year ago and have Jon added in there after he missed a good share of the early season with an injury. “You always want to see your team come together this time of year,” he added. Manchester, dropping to 4-10 overall and 2-4 in the TRC, got out of the gates fast, scoring seven of the first eight points and holding the lead to the end of the first quarter (13-12). However, the Norse outscored the home team in each of the final three quarters, including a 25-point second-quarter roll, en route to the victory. Manchester had a strong scoring group of its own, as junior guard Claudel Dickantone finished with 19, hitting four three-point baskets in the process, junior guard Clayton Petrie added 11 and senior forward Neil Underwood ended with 10. “(Northfield) does a good job of punishing their opponents for mistakes,” Manchester coach Eric Thompson said. “We appeared to be coming back and, as an example, they had a traditional three-point play to end the first half and a big three to end the third period. “I’m pleased with what I’ve seen from our guys, though,” he added. “We are very young, but I think some things are getting figured out. I hope we continue to improve toward the sectional tournament and see what happens from there.” Northfield opens a three-game home stand when Fort Wayne Canterbury visits Saturday. Manchester remains at home to face off against Peru tonight.
NORTHFIELD 64, MANCHESTER 52 NF 10 25 13 18 – 64 Man 12 18 12 10 – 52 N’field – Carter Frieden 1-3 1-2 3, Adam Roser 0-1 0-0 0, Collin Dawes 8-13 5-7 22, Tanner Wilcox 4-5 1-1 10, Marcus Kroh 1-1 0-0 2, Noah Shear 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Keafabber 2-7 6-6 10, Jon Richardson 5-9 5-5 17. Totals 21-40 18-21 64. Manchester – Chase Fierstos 0-5 2-2 2, Claudel Dickantone 6-7 2-3 19, Lucas Schilling 1-1 0-0 2, Clayton Petrie 4-11 1-2 11, Derek Flack 3-4 2-2 8, Neil Underwood 5-5 0-0 10. Totals 19-33 7-9 52. Fouls – Manchester 15, N’field 9; Fouled out – none; Three-pointers – Manchester 7 (Dickantone 4), N’field 4 (Richardson 2); Rebounds – Manchester 15 (Petrie 6), N’field 19 (Dawes 5); Assists – Manchester 13 (Fierstos 6), N’field 11 (Roser 4); Steals – Manchester 3, N’field 10 (Keafabber 4); Turnovers – Manchester 13, NHS 9; Records: Manchester 4-10 (2-4 TRC), N’field 11-6 (5-1 TRC) JV – Manchester 47, Northfield 44
