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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Jayhawks clip Manchester

Offense goes cold as Dutchmen drop game to Vandercook Lake

By Ed Patino, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: January 10, 2008

Lengthy offensive droughts and lack of trips to the free-throw line were hurting the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team prior to the holiday break.

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Much of the same problems continued as the Flying Dutchmen returned to action with a 52-43 loss to the Vandercook Lake Jayhawks in a Cascades Conference game Jan. 5.

Manchester (1-6, 1-2 Cascades) was shut down by the Jayhawks' defense in the second and third quarter. The Dutchmen were held to 15 points over the middle two frames, while Vandercook Lake (4-2, 1-2 Cascades) built up a 13 point lead by the end of the third quarter. The teams exchanged baskets in the fourth, but the Jayhawks held off Manchester's comeback attempts.

On the night, the Dutchmen made 11 trips to the free-throw line, all of which in the second half, making eight. Meanwhile, Vandercook Lake finished 17-of-28 from the charity stripe.

"We're having a hard time scoring and we're not getting to the free-throw line," Manchester coach Bryan Barnard said. "We've talked about driving to the basket and being more aggressive on offense. That's something we need to get better at, because we can't keep getting outshot at the line."

The Dutchmen were the better team in the first quarter. Manchester scored the game's first five points and controlled the ball for long stretches during the first four minutes. Brian Lowe scored Vandercook's first basket with 3:45 left in the quarter. He later tied the game at 7 when he scored on a putback, but Beau Kingsbury answered with a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the quarter, giving Manchester a 10-7 lead.

Vandercook Lake fought back with five straight points in the second quarter, and Gregory Brown's layup gave the Jayhawks a four-point lead midway through the frame. A jumper by Logan Ross and three-pointer by Randy Kleinschmidt gave Manchester a 15-14 lead, but it didn't last.

Matthew Negus scored six straight points for Vandercook to close the quarter. His basket off a steal in the final minute gave the Jayhawks a 22-17 lead at halftime.

"I thought we played good defense in the first half, but we gave them a run and a couple of layups at the end," Barnard said.

The Dutchmen's first free throw came 48 seconds into the third quarter, and Jarod Sawyer went 1-for-2, pulling Manchester to within four. That would be as close as it would get, however, as Vandercook Lake took control of the game with an 18-5 run over the next eight minutes.

A traditional three-point play by David Midena started the run, then a basket by Negus gave the Jayhawks a 29-20 lead. Corwin Every answered with a jumper, but Lowe converted a traditional three-point play moments later. An inside basket and three-pointer by Matt Rutledge extended the lead to 38-24 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.

While the Jayhawks were heating up, Manchester went cold from the floor. The Dutchmen tried to get back in the game with multiple shots from behind the arc, but nothing went through.

"We don't want to settle for three-pointers all the time," Barnard said. "We need to drive and put better pressure on their big guys underneath."

A putback by Lowe and two free throws from Jacob McDaniels gave Vandercook Lake a 42-25 lead early in the fourth. The teams traded baskets until the Dutchmen made an 8-0 run with less than two minutes remaining.

Kingsbury canned a three-pointer, then Ross scored on a putback. A traditional three-point play by Logan Zigila with 32.4 seconds remaining pulled Manchester to within 50-41, but Zach Austin hit a pair of free throws to halt the Dutchmen's rally.

"We started out great and took care of the ball, but we go through huge scoring droughts," Barnard said. "We had more jump early and looked sharp. We thought we were ready, but it comes down to execution."

Zigila and Kleinschmidt each scored nine points to lead the Dutchmen. Justin Welton added six points, while Ross had five points. Sawyer finished with three points and Corwin Every and Sam Brown each scored two points for Manchester.

Negus and Lowe each scored 13 points to lead Vandercook Lake. Midena added nine points, while Rutledge threw in seven points. McDaniels and Austin each scored four points for the Jayhawks.

The Dutchmen traveled to Addison for a Cascades Conference game Tuesday after the newspaper's deadline. Manchester remains on the road Friday when it travels to defending Cascades champion Hanover-Horton.

"We don't have a lot of varsity experience, but that will come in time and we'll start clicking soon," Barnard said. "The attitudes are good and the guys work hard at practice, and the effort has been good."

Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.