2nd Half Comeback Thwarted At Sectional
07 Mar 2008

A furious second half comeback was thwarted by mistakes, as the Manchester Squires ended their season with a heartbreaking 61-59 loss to Wabash in the opening game of the Lewis Cass Sectional Wednesday night.
Wabash dominated the first half, taking a 34-16 halftime lead.
The Squires responded with a fury, cutting the lead to 46-42 at the end of the third quarter, and actually led by six points, 57-51 with 2:47 left in the game.
Wabash, however, took advantage of Manchester miscues to outscore the Squires 10-2 over the last 2:30 of the game to advance to the semi-finals.
“This kind of game hurts because of the lead we had, and we let it slip away,” Manchester coach Gary Goshert said. “We weren’t ready to play in the first half and Wabash was. They took it to us.
“I couldn’t be happier with how we played for 14 of the last 16 minutes of the game,” he added. “We could have easily folded up our tents, but these kids showed that they have heart. I really liked how we played in the second half.”
The first half saw Manchester miss five inside shots in the first three minutes of the game, while Wabash started the game on fire, scoring 15 points in the first 4:30 of the game.
Niko Macaluso gave the Apaches a quick 8-2 lead with three free throws and a three pointer.
Travis Ritter scored two straight baskets, followed by a free throw from Luke Harness, and a basket from Greg Lane to end a 13-0 run.
Aaron Medley hit a basket inside, but the Apaches went on a 9-0 run to lead 24-4.
Dan Bourne did his best to keep the Squires in it, scoring nine points in the second quarter, and a David Cable three pointer made it 34-16 at halftime.
“That’s as well as we played all season,” Wabash coach Matt Stone said. “We did everything right in the first half.”
As well as Wabash played in the first half, Manchester topped that effort in the second half.
Goshert sent his team out to the court with six minutes left in halftime, then brought them back into the locker room with three minutes remaining for one last pep talk. It worked, as the Squires started the second half on fire.
Medley opened the half with a basket, followed by a three pointer and an inside basket from David Cable, and a basket from Bourne to cut the 18 point halftime lead to nine at 34-25.
Dillon stopped the 9-0 run with a basket, and Wabash looked to regain control of the game, taking a 42-29 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
Corey Thomas got a steal and three point play, but Greg Lane answered with a basket.
Bourne hit a three pointer, followed by two free throws from Spenser Penrod to cut the lead to 44-37.
Greg Henderson made it 46-37 with a basket, but Thomas scored on a drive, and Bourne nailed a three pointer to close the third quarter with the Squires down just 46-42.
Bourne opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer, and Medley gave the Squires the improbable lead with two free throws.
After a Wabash miss, Medley scored two of his 12 fourth quarter points to make it 49-46.
Dillon and Lane scored back to back baskets to give the lead back to Wabash, but Medley gave the lead back to Manchester on two free throws, followed by a basket to make it 53-50.
Dillon cut the Manchester lead to 53-51 with a free throw, but Medley struck again, followed by a fast break lay up from Jody Griggs to give Manchester a 57-51 lead with 2:47 remaining.
On the play, however, Griggs hurt his knee, which seemed to also stop the Squire momentum with the break in the action.
Henderson went to work inside, scoring on a three point play with 2:30 left to cut the lead to 57-54.
Medley made it a five point game at 59-54 with 1:45 left, but Travis Ritter scored to cut it to 59-56.
Medley missed an 18 footer with over a minute left, but the Squires got the rebound, and got the ball to Bourne, who was fouled.
Bourne missed the front end of a one and one, giving the ball back to Wabash.
Lane missed inside, but Nolan Holloway traveled after getting the rebound, giving the ball to Wabash underneath their own basket.
The Squires lost track of Macaluso, who buried a three pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 59-59 with 33 seconds left.
Wabash pressed after a time out, and Ian Pattison’s inbounds pass hit the bottom of the backboard. Dillon grabbed the loose ball and laid it in with 28 seconds left to give the lead to Wabash 61-59.
The Squires worked the ball to their hot hand, but Medley’s shot was off the mark, and a jump ball was called after a scramble for the ball. The possession arrow pointed to Wabash.
Dillon went to the line after getting quickly fouled with 3.3 seconds left for a one and one.
His shot was off the mark, but after Cable and Medley had the ball bounce off their hands, Henderson snatched the ball from the air as time expired, giving the Apaches the win 61-59.
“As quickly has we were able to get the lead in that second half, we just had too many mistakes in the last 90 seconds that just killed us,” Goshert said. “I feel for these guys, because they showed how hard they can play, and how well we can do things. We have a lot of seniors that have been a part of this program for a long time. We’re going to miss them, and the things they’ve done for the program.”
Bourne led the Squires with 22 points and three rebounds, while Medley had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Cable added eight points and seven rebounds, Thomas had five points and two assists, Penrod had two points, Griggs had two points and two rebounds, Pattison had two rebounds and two assists, while Holloway had three assists.
The Squires end the season with a 6-15 record.