NORTH MANCHESTER – Hosting the two-win Argos boys basketball team Tuesday night, the Manchester Squires posted a 46-39 victory. The win snapped a five-game skid by Manchester (4-15), while the Argos Dragons (2-18) saw their losing streak reach 13 games. No matter the records of the teams, first-year Manchester coach Eric Thompson was happy to get his guys back in the win column. "The guys played the best they have all year," he said. "Our turnovers were down, we executed on defense pretty well. The guys are also starting to learn their roles on offense." Manchester's top offensive player was senior Logan Brunn, who converted 8 of 14 field goals, scoring a game-high 21 points and posting a game-best 14 rebounds. "He's a versatile player for us," Thompson said about the 6-foot-2 Brunn. "He does a lot. He's one of our captains and the guys knew this was his night. They got him the ball." Brunn also helped sway the momentum in his team's favor midway through the fourth quarter. With Manchester railing 33-32, Brunn first scored off an in-bound pass from senior Derek Self, giving the Squires their first lead of the second half. Playing with the lead, Brunn then extended it to 36-33 following a pair of free throws. On Argos' next possession, Brunn got a steal, then took it the length of the court, and was fouled while making the layup. After converting his free throw, Brunn had scored seven-straight points and given his team a 39-33 lead. Along with Brunn's production, Manchester sophomore Clayton Petrie had nine points and Self scored seven. For Argos, sophomore reserve Cain Thorn, who played at Triton last season, scored a team-high 16 points and had five rebounds. Although his team did struggle to shake the Dragons, Thompson was pleased with what he saw from his guys, as they host Garrett Friday before entering postseason competition. "It's nice to see the guys develop their basketball IQs under a new system," he said. "The timing's right. It's better late than never and better before sectional than after."
MANCHESTER 46, ARGOS 39 A 8 14 9 8 — 39 M 9 13 8 16 — 46 Manchester — Derek Self 1-7 5-8 7, Caleb Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Clayton Petrie 3-6 3-8 9, Logan Brunn 8-14 5-8 21, Phoenix Goad 0-0 1-4 1, Micah McDaniel 0-0 0-0 0, Claudel Dickantone 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Schuler 0-1 0-0 0, Connor McLaughlin 2-6 0-0 6, Neil Underwood 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-35 14-28 46. Argos — Taylor Ogle 2-7 0-0 6, Dominic Cataldo 4-11 0-0 10, Brian Snyder 1-3 0-0 3, Max Bailey 1-4 0-0 2, Ben Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Cain Thorn 4-13 7-8 16, Zach Hartman 1-3 0-0 2, Casey Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 7-8 39. Three-point goals — Manchester 2-10 (McLaughlin 2), Argos 6-23 (Ogle 2, Cataldo 2, Thorn, Snyder); Team Fouls (fouled out) — Manchester 14, Argos 23; Turnovers — Manchester 13, Argos 15; Rebounds — Manchester 25 (Brunn 14), Argos 21 (Thorn 5); Assists — Manchester 5 (Self 2), Argos 7 (Ogle 5); Steals — Manchester 6 (Brunn 2, Goad 2), Argos 4; Blocks — Manchester 0, Argos 3 (Carter 2); Records: Manchester 4-15, Argos 2-18. JV — Manchester 40, Argos 27. Manchester JV — Lennart Simon 15, McDaniel 11, Underwood 5, Owen Johnson 2, Cody Egner 2, Connor Eichenauer 2, Lucas Schilling 2, N. Johnson 1.
