NORTH MANCHESTER – After Manchester scored the game’s first 17 points, the visiting North Miami Warriors answered with a 8-3 run of its own before the first quarter ended. It was the last time the Warriors would be heard from in the Squires’ 64-30 Three Rivers Conference win Friday night. Manchester’s starters scored all but two of the team’s 37 first-half points before sitting out the last three minutes of the second quarter. They began the third quarter with a 9-0 run, and one-by-one they exited for the remainder of the game by the three minute mark of the period. The Squires’ game plan was worked to near perfection, as Manchester worked the ball inside-out and crashed the boards. Only one basket was scored from beyond the arc in building the large lead. On defense the Squires forced 27 Warrior turnovers in the first three quarters, and also outrebounded North Miami 37-20 for the game. “The guys did a nice job of executing the game plan. And when we executed it fully, we were able to do what we wanted. When we didn’t, when we got away from it, North Miami would cause some problems,” Manchester head coach Eric Thompson said, “Luckily, more than not we stayed with the game plan. “We wanted to play the Squire Way. In their 2-3 zone, we wanted to exploit the inside-out, the short corners and in the high post. Defensively, we wanted to force them into situations that they’re not used to, then be ready for help-side because they’re quick. When we did that, we were able to get good things.” There was a clear difference in the skill level of the teams. North Miami has won one game so far this season, against a winless Blackford team last week. Manchester played like the more talented and experienced team. “These guys do work hard; they put a lot of time in. A lot of them are multi-sport athletes, but they do put the time in for hoops and I appreciate that as a coach for sure,” Thompson said. “They have really good basketball IQs and that helps out a ton, too. They’re smart kids.” Normally the Squires don’t use many players off the bench. Friday night Manchester suited up 15 and they all played extensively. “It was very nice to see what the other guys can do,” Thompson said. “When we played our last game (a 52-50 win over Northfield in the Wabash County Tournament on Dec. 30) I think six was about as deep as we could go consistently. Tonight we were able to play 15, so it was nice to see some guys step up and get some good things and get them off the JV floor into some varsity action against bigger, stronger and faster players with better skill, and I liked what I saw.” Senior Chase Fierstos led Manchester with a game-high 16 points, while sophomore Koehl Fluke chipped in wit 15 points. Trevor Linn and Jeff Eckrote scored eight and seven points, respectively, for the Warriors. With the win, the Squires moved to 7-4, and evened their conference record at 1-1. They will host TRC leader Maconaquah Tuesday night. North Miami fell to 1-11 overall and 0-3 in the TRC.
MANCHESTER 64, NORTH MIAMI 30 NM 8 7 6 9 – 30 M 20 17 21 6 – 64 North Miami – Trevor Linn 3-8 2-3 8, Zane Briggs 0-3 1-2 1, Connor Hanaway 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Holden 2-3 0-1 4, Alex Kuhn 0-0 0-0 0, Jeff Eckrote 3-3 1-4 7, Jamison Slonaker 0-0 0-1 0, Patrick Masters 1-1 0-0 2, Garrett Bahney 1-1 2-2 4, Caleb Gipson 2-3 0-1 4, Andrew Ireland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-11 6-14 30. Manchester – Chase Fierstos 7-15 2-2 16, Bailey Sewell 1-1 0-0 2, Braxtin Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Hamby 0-3 0-0 0, David McAtee 3-5 0-0 6, Kamdyn Lester 1-1 0-0 3, Koehl Fluke 4-12 4-6 15, Levi Hicks 1-2 0-0 2, Zack Hill 0-2 0-0 0, Jake Schannep 0-3 0-0 0, Kane Gable 0-2 0-0 0, Heath Dierks 1-3 0-0 2, Brayden Casper 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 25-58 10-13 64. Three-pointers – North Miami 0, Manchester 4 (Fluke 3, Hicks); Rebounds – North Miami 20 (Eckrote 4), Manchester 37 (Norwood 6); Turnovers – North Miami 31, Manchester 13; Fouls – North Miami 12, Manchester 18; Fouled out – none; Records: North Miami 1-11 (0-3 TRC), Manchester 7-4 (1-1 TRC) JV – Manchester 56, North Miami 20 Manchester scoring – Brayden Casper 16, Braxtin Wilson 11, Devon Rooney 10, Jake Schannep 5, Levi Hicks 4, Isaiah Davis 2, Spence Trick 2, Kamdyn Lester 2, Andrew McAtee 2, Heath Dierks 2.
