DENVER – Manchester High School boys basketball coach Eric Thompson had been wanting to see his team learn and grow from some recent tough losses. His team got a good start on the process Friday night, as the Squires earned their first Three Rivers Conference win by a 56-42 count over North Miami. “We had some late leads get away from us at a holiday tournament last weekend,” he said. “It was tough to see that, but it’s part of the learning process for a young team. I think, with the way we played tonight, we grew a little bit as a team,” he added. “We got out of the gate fast and withstood a strong run from North Miami. I knew (North Miami head coach Clay) Bosler’s team would come back strong at some point, and they did, but we withstood it to get a good road win.” Manchester, improving to 2-7 overall and 1-1 in league play, jumped out quickly on the host Warriors (1-8, 0-2 TRC). Behind a 7-of-10 effort from the field in the opening quarter, the Squires held a 21-1 lead early in the second stanza. North Miami answered with a 16-9 second-quarter spurt to make it 28-17 at halftime. The Warriors kept Manchester within their sights in the second half, closing to within 10 late in the game but could get no closer. The Squires were led by freshman guard Chase Fierstos, who hit five three-point buckets en route to a 27-point night. He was also accurate from the charity stripe, hitting four key attempts in the closing moments to help keep the Squires’ lead in double digits. Junior guard Clayton Petrie was also strong at the line, hitting six straight in the second half as part of a 17-point night. He also grabbed five boards and picked up three steals. “Chase has done well moving up quickly from playing junior high ball last year to the varsity this season,” Thompson said. “He was one of eight key parts tonight, though. I was impressed with the way everyone got involved.” The Warriors were paced by senior forward Ethan Beech, who finished the game 13 points and nine rebounds. Manchester is in action again Friday when it hosts conference foe Wabash, while North Miami hosts Caston Tuesday.
MANCHESTER 56, NORTH MIAMI 42 Man 19 9 12 16 – 56 NMH 1 16 7 18 – 42 Manchester – Chase Fierstos 9-10 4-4 27, Claudel Dickantone 3-6 1-1 8, Phoenix Goad 1-2 0-0 2, Clayton Petrie 6-9 6-11 17, Neil Underwood 0-4 2-4 2. Totals 19-33 13-24 56. North Miami – Cody Pugh 0-0 1-2 1, Austin Barker 2-10 0-0 6, Aasa Deardorf 2-7 0-0 4, Keith Rouch 2-7 0-0 4, Damon Gipson 1-3 1-1 3, Cameron Mygrant 1-2 0-0 3, Alex Borse 2-7 3-7 8, Ethan Beech 5-8 5-8 13. 15-44 10-18 42. Three-pointers – Manchester 7 (Fierstos 5), N. Miami 4 (Barker 2); Team fouls – Manchester 17, N. Miami 18; Turnovers – Manchester 17, N. Miami 18; Rebounds – Manchester 21 (Petrie 5), N. Miami 28 (Beech 9); Assists – Manchester 11 (Dickantone 4), N. Miami 5 (Barker 2). Steals – Manchester 7 (Petrie 3), N. Miami 10 (Beech 3); Blocked shots – Manchester 1 (Schilling). JV – Manchester 39, North Miami 22
