Squires Tame Whitko WildcatsNORTH MANCHESTER – In a game that saw five players score in double figures, there wasn’t much doubt in a blowout win for Manchester High School’s varsity boys basketball team Saturday night as the host Squires defeated Whitko 82-59 in Three Rivers Conference action.
The Squires (11-8, 6-3 TRC) had their hearts broken the night before at the hands of Peru, who won 60-59 in the final seconds off an offensive rebound and shot to clinch the game for the Tigers.
Manchester was able to bounce back and move into sole possession of third place in the TRC with the win over Whitko.
“As a coaching staff, we were really interested to see how the guys would respond after a letdown from last night,” said Manchester coach Mark Underwood. “I’m proud of the way they played as a team tonight, and the way they’re coming together and the team chemistry we’re seeing.”
The Squires ended the Peru game on a big scoring run and began Saturday’s game the same way. The Wildcats (8-13, 5-4 TRC) started with a small 2-0 lead to begin the contest, but that didn’t last long and Manchester went on an 11-0 run and never looked back.
Manchester’s defense was tough, allowing Whitko to take five shots in the opening stanza. The tight defense was a theme all game for the Squires.
At halftime, the Wildcats were down 45-17. Whitko took nine shots from behind the arc in the first two quarters of play, making zero of those attempts. Manchester was able to knock down five of its 10 attempts.
The Wildcats came out of the break and scored 20 points in the third quarter, more than they did in the first half. Senior River West drained three triples in the quarter and scored 11 of his 29 points in the third period alone. West was kept at bay in the first half, tallying 11 points in the first 16 minutes.
“When the game was being decided, I thought (Koehl) Fluke did a really nice job defending (West),” Underwood said. “We needed to share the load guarding him all night and kept fresh players on him.”
The Squires had three players score in double figures during the contest and Whitko had two. For Manchester senior Mason Hamby led the way with 19 points, while junior Brayden Casper and freshman Weston Hamby added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
To go with West’s 29 points, Whitko got 16 from freshman Brett Sickafoose. The Wildcats were without 6-foot-6 senior Spencer Sroufe.
Whitko plays at home on Tuesday against Southern Wells for a nonconference game. Manchester visits Columbia City on Friday.
Both the Squires and Wildcats have three games left in the regular season.
