GOSHEN – The Manchester Squires didn’t pick up the “W” they wanted, but did build some momentum for the postseason. After trailing 25-11 at halftime, Manchester closed with what head coach Mark Underwood considered two strong quarters in a 60-43 loss Friday in the regular-season finale for both high school boys basketball teams. Mason Hamby (13 of his 15 points in the second half), David McAtee (9 of 13 in the second half) and Brayden Casper (6 of 10 in the second half) paced the Squires (6-16), who will meet Lewis Cass (14-8) Tuesday in the Class 2A Oak Hill Sectional opener Goshen meets Concord in the first game of the Class 4A Elkhart Sectional the same night. “It’s nice as we’re approaching the sectional to be coming off two good quarters,” Underwood said. “We feel like if we score 32 a half we have a pretty good chance to win. We’re going to try to put four quarters together in the sectional.” Underwood said he challenged his players at halftime to play with more fire and emotion after intermission, and that’s what he saw. “They came out in the second half and played much better,” Underwood said. Goshen (13-9) led 15-4 at the end of the first quarter. The RedHawks connected on 6 of 10 field goal attempts in the first period while the Squires went 1 of 7. All of Manchester’s points were tallied by Casper (a layup and two free throws in the last minute of the quarter). “They were playing well defensively, but part of the problem was my guys were giving up too easy,” Underwood said. “They weren’t being as aggressive and persistent and getting in deep enough. Once you get in deeper, you can kick out for some threes. Once we started to do that, it went a little bit better.” Goshen’s biggest advantage in the second quarter was 17 points – the last time at 25-8 – and the RedHawks took a 25-11 lead into halftime. McAtee (jumper from the key and layup) scored four of Manchester’s seven second-quarter points. “Goshen is a solid team and we understand that,” Underwood said. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds in the first half. We gave up six and they scored on three of those. “When we you can’t rebound, you can’t run.” RedHawks coach Michael Wohlford talked about his team’s defensive effort. “Staying in front of them and not allowing them to drive (was key),” Wohlford said. “We weren’t quite as good in the second half as we were in the first. They had a better second half (offensively), but so did we. Our kids stayed with their shot.” A balanced Goshen attack was led by Mitchell Walters (12 points), CJ Detweiler (11), Will Line (11), Bryant Robinson (10) and Michael Pinarski (9).
GOSHEN 60, MANCHESTER 43 M 4 7 15 17 – 43 G 15 10 20 15 – 60 Manchester – Koehl Fluke 1-6 1-2 3, David McAtee 6-10 0-0 13, Mason Hamby 6-11 2-3 15, Adam Byers 0-1 1-2 1, Brayden Casper 4-5 2-2 10, Kamdyn Lester 0-3 1-2 1, Devon Rooney 0-0 0-0 0, Kane Gable 0-1 0-0 0, Levi Hicks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-37 7-12 43. Goshen – Eliot Nafziger 2-3 0-0 5, Mitchell Walters 5-8 2-6 12, Will Line 5-6 0-0 11, CJ Detweiler 4-6 2-2 11, Michael Pinarski 3-8 3-4 9, Bryant Robinson 3-5 1-2 10, Simon Myers 0-1 2-2 2, Joseph Good 0-1 0-0 0, Dominick Swinney 0-0 0-0 0, Porter Revoir 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Biller 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Lehr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-39 10-16 60. Three-pointers – Manchester 2 (Hamby, McAtee), Goshen 6 (Robinson 3, Line, Nafziger, Detweiler); Rebounds – Manchester 14 (Casper 7), Goshen 26 (Detweiler 8); Turnovers – Manchester 9, Goshen 13; Fouls – Manchester 13, Goshen 17; Fouled out – none; Records: Goshen 13-9, Manchester 6-16 JV – Goshen 56, Manchester 39 Manchester – Thane Creager 14, Isaiah Davis 9, Logan Parrett 5
