Manhattan High boys basketball team fell to a 5-9 record after a close 35-37 loss at Emporia last Friday.
Earlier in the week Manhattan hosted Topeka High in a makeup game from earlier in the season. Manhattan came out strong and kept the lead the whole game winning 65-60 over T-High.
”I thought we still did a good job defensively. You know, I thought we rebounded the ball pretty well,” Head Coach Benji George said. “So it was encouraging to find a way to win when you don’t shoot it well.”
At Emporia the Indians struggled to find the right shot, only scoring eight points in the first quarter. On defense the Indians continued to play lights out, keeping EHS to 12 points in the first. Manhattan came out strong in the second scoring five straight points to take their first lead of the night 13-12. Finishing out the half both teams struggled to score as they went into the half tied at 19.
“I really liked our defensive effort. We really forced him into some tough shots. I think after the first two minutes of the game, we really matched their physicality,” George said.
Out of the half the Indians came out flat as they were out scored 10-5 in the third quarter bringing them to a 24-29 deficit with a quarter left to play. With five minutes left in the game, MHS was able to bring the game back to a one point lead for Emporia after a 5-1 run. After some defensive stops by both teams, junior Sawyer Newton gave the Indians a 31-30 lead with three minutes left in the game. Emporia regained the lead 31-33 with two minutes left to play. After the timeout, senior Sam Spiegel tied the game at 33 but missed the and-one to take the lead. With under a minute left to play Emporia scored four straight to take a 37-33 lead. With 3.6 left on the clock the Indians inbound was taken away as Emporia handed MHS a 35-37 loss as the Indians fell to 5-9 on the season.
“I think we could have done some things, obviously, a lot better, starting with pace, and it’s just an area that we’re going to have to show some improvement,” George said.
The Indians next game is at Topeka High on Feb. 14.
