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MENTONE - With five seconds to play in the ball game, the chant finally filled the air.
"T-R-C, T-R-C, T-R-C."
Holding a 45-39 lead and possession of the basketball, Manchester could finally breathe easy and begin to enjoy a second consecutive Three Rivers Conference championship.
Manchester fans didn't expect it to be so late in the game before they could begin the chant, but they also realize that road wins haven't come easily for the Squires.
The 46-39 win for Manchester over Valley on Friday night is the largest road victory of the season. And this one was in jeopardy until the final moments of the fourth quarter.
"That's the way it's been in all three of our TRC road games," Manchester head coach Gary Goshert said. "It was a night where we didn't shoot the ball well, a night where we had silly turnovers, a night where we didn't make free throws very well. But still, these kids gutted it out and persevered again."
Valley jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter and held a two-point lead heading into the fourth before squandering the small lead. But the pivotal play in the game had come just seconds before the final period began.
Valley held a 30-25 lead and the ball with under a minute to play in the third quarter. But Eric Love tried to force the ball inside with eight seconds to play and a Manchester player stepped in front of the pass. Steve Fawcett caught the outlet pass downcourt and strode in for a layup and a foul as time expired. Fawcett went down hard and injured his knee on the play, but Chris Enyeart made the free throw to make the deficit just two points.
"We made a glaring mistake that was compounded by the fact that it was a possession by possession game," Valley head coach Gregg Sciarra said. "It was very much like our sectional (championship) game against Columbia City. Every possession meant so much. It didn't do us in but it was one of those not-so-smart plays that we have a tendency to do at times."
That play began a tough-luck fourth quarter for Valley in which mental mistakes cost the Vikings in the late stages. For instance, Valley made just 4 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter. Also, with the game tied at 35-35, the Vikings fouled Enyeart inside and he connected on a three-point play. These were the little things that were magnified in a tight ballgame.
Love helped Valley jump out to an early 16-8 advantage with 10 points in the opening period on a pair of three-pointers. But Scot Croner nailed a three with 11 seconds left in the first quarter to make the score 16-11 after one.
That three-pointer started a run of eight straight points for the Squires and was capped off by a layup from Fawcett with 3:59 to play in the second that tied the game at 16-16. However, the two teams traded one basket each to close out the final four minutes of action for an 18-18 halftime score.
In the third quarter, Love got hot again, making two more three-pointers, the second of which was about 22 feet away. Valley went on a 9-2 run to take the 30-25 lead before Fawcett's three-point play to end the third.
In the fourth quarter, Enyeart's three-point play gave Manchester a 38-35 advantage and the lead improved to five points at 41-36 with just 40 seconds to play. But JayDee Parker nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two points for Valley with 32 seconds left. However, Enyeart made all four of his free throw attempts down in the final 30 seconds and Valley's three-pointers fell off target to end the game.
"The kids really played hard and were focused and really thought that they could win the basketball game," Sciarra said. "They thought they could win the basketball game before it started. Mentally they were there and physically, for the most part, we were almost there. We're taking away some positives from it."
Enyeart had game highs in both points and rebounds for the Squires. He scored 20 points and grabbed nine boards. He was the only Manchester player with more than seven points on the night.
Love scored 16 points and had six rebounds for Valley while Maurice Looman added 10 points and seven rebounds on the night. Parker and Brandon Eaton, who are combining for 24.5 points and 13.1 rebounds as starting forwards, scored just 11 points and had 10 rebounds together.
Goshert realizes that his team has struggled on the road, but also has an idea on how to correct that. He knows that when sectionals come around the bend, every game is, in effect, a road game.
"You've got to do the little things right," he said. "You come out here and you shoot before the JV game and you did it with a purpose. You get used to the floor. You get used to both ends. The basket shouldn't seem that foreign to us if we're doing things right. I think we need to take a look at some of the things we're doing in direct preparation."
Manchester (14-2, 6-0) will play at Churubusco on Friday while Valley (4-10, 3-3) will be at Wabash on the same night. Manchester can clinch the sole TRC championship with a win against Northfield on the final game of the season, Feb. 24. The Squires can also clinch the title if Oak Hill loses a conference game before then.
