The Manhattan High boys basketball ended their season with a 6-16 record after a 59-45 loss at Junction City in the first round of Sub-State March 4.
In the first quarter both teams struggled to find the basket with both teams scoring zero points in the first three minutes. The rest of the quarter Manhattan and Junction went back-and-forth as the Indians went down 9-10 at the end of the quarter.
The Blue Jays came out hot in the second going on a 13-6 run extending their lead to eight. The Indians closed out the half strong as they went into the half down 19-27.
In the third both teams were able to find success on offense with the Indians scoring 10 and the Blue Jays scoring 14.
Going into the fourth the Indians were in a 29-41 deficit looking to keep their season alive.
“I think there’s a stretch in the third quarter where things just didn’t go our way,” senior Sam Spiegel said. “And it kind of stuck in our heads a little bit too long, and we probably should have just flushed it and moved on.”
In the fourth the Indians struggled to get back into the game as they fell 45-59 putting an end to their season.
After the game Manhattan’s two seniors had some thoughts to share about the team
“[The team] meant a lot. I had played with them for quite a while, through middle school, and even some of them before that,” Spiegel said, “it was such a good team, even though the season didn’t go how we wanted, it was still pretty fun.”
Senior Landon Knopp also had some final thoughts on the season.
“It kind of just made me realize how lucky I was to play for such a great program in Manhattan and to be able to play at a 6A level,” Knopp said. “I have really enjoyed playing under these coaches and with my friends along the way.”
