While experience is preferred, it is not necessary.

The Manhattan High boys basketball team proved that to be true Friday night in a 69-61 win over Dodge City, a game in which head coach Benji George started two sophomores, two juniors and one senior.

“I know we’re young and we’ve got some inexperience and it was interesting to see how [the players] would handle it,” George said. “I thought, for the most part, they handled it pretty well. Offensively, there was a couple mistakes, we got sped up a little bit, took some quick shots late, which doesn’t need to happen. But, for the most part, I thought that when our backs were against the wall, we handled it pretty well.”

Similar to the girls game, Dodge City began the game on a 5-0 run before Manhattan got on the board. However, the Indians knocked down three three-pointers in the first period, one from senior Garrett Francis and two from junior Robbie Ostermann. Ostermann’s three-pointers came on consecutive possessions, and the second gave MHS a 16-9 advantage, and Manhattan led 20-16 after one.

The Red Demons opened the second frame on a 7-2 run, but once again the Indians had an answer. Junior Gabe Awbrey tallied 11 points in the second period and made five of his six free throws to hold off Dodge City, and explained that his team wanted to play an up-tempo style.

“We’re trying to get up and press things and speed up things,” Awbrey said. “We feel like, with our personnel, we can do that.”

Despite only Awbrey, junior Christian Carmichael and senior Pierson McAtee scoring in the second quarter, the Indians took a 35-27 lead into halftime.

What Manhattan didn’t get from McAtee in the first half, it got from him in the third quarter. The senior scored 13 of the Indians’ 15 points in the period and finished the frame with 18 total points.

“My teammates definitely picked me up,” McAtee said. “[I got] a little bit down, shot wasn’t falling, but they told me to keep shooting. Trevor [Hudgins] found me the ball a lot on that press break and things started to flow.”

In large part thanks to McAtee and Awbrey’s combined 24 points after three quarters, MHS led by four entering the final period, 50-46.

“They both have stepped up when they’ve needed to,” George said. “They both are extremely passionate about the game, they work extremely hard, they put in the time, and they’re both great kids. They deserve it. I am so proud of them for stepping up. I know we took some steps forward; we got a lot of things to work on. But I am proud of those two for stepping up for us.”

Hudgins scored the opening four points of the fourth quarter, and four free throws later from Awbrey and McAtee, the Indians held a 60-52 advantage. Despite the lead, Dodge City countered with a 7-2 run to pull within three, capped off by Red Demon junior Dayton McGroarty’s three-pointer, but Manhattan answered. The Indians went 7-8 from the free throw line over the final stretch and held on for the win.

“We definitely have things to work on, but we’re happy that we can come out and get the win,” Awbrey said.

Manhattan hits the road this Friday to take on Topeka West in the Indians’ second game of 2014.