Squires Hold On Against Lakeland Christian Academy
05 Feb 2009

by Eric Christiansen
Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch and 21 points from Scott Baker helped the Manchester Squires pick up their second win of the season, 53-47 over Lakeland Christian Academy.
In a game just added to the schedule, Manchester didn't know much about the Cougars, but did enough to grab the win.
Baker hit 7-8 free throws in the fourth quarter, including connecting on all three one and ones in the final minute to hold off a pesky Lakeland Christian team.
"We haven't been in this situation very much this season, and I'm happy with the way we were able to execute, get the ball to the right spots and to the right people, and most importantly, hit our free throws," Manchester coach Gary Goshert said.
Manchester took a 10-0 lead, but LCA battled back in the second quarter, scoring five straight points in the final four seconds of the half to cut the lead to 27-19.
In the third quarter, LCA got as close as 34-31,but Ryan Binkley nailed a three pointer to give the Squires some breathing room.
The Squires built up an eight point lead in the fourth quarter, but LCA cut it to 46-43 with 2:16 left in the game.
Lakeland had a chance to pull even closer with 1:35 left, but missed the front end of a one and one.
Baker then converted a one and one, but the Cougars answered with a basket, keeping the lead to three points, 48-45.
Baker once again hit two free throws, and once again, the Cougars answered with a basket.
With 19.6 seconds left, Baker hit two more free throws for a 52-47 lead, and a Lakeland three pointer was off the mark with nine seconds left.
Austin Crockett hit 1-2 free throws with eight second remaining to seal the deal.