The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Late run lifts Manchester past Warriors
Kleinschmidt scores career-best 28 points in Dutchmen victory
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
Randy Kleinschmidt scored the first and last points for the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team in its Jan. 18 game against the Grass Lake Warriors.
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The junior scored a lot more in between.
Kleinschmidt scored 28 points, sparking the Flying Dutchmen to a 55-45 victory over Grass Lake in a Cascades Conference game.
The teams exchanged runs throughout the first half. Manchester (3-7, 3-3 Cascades) started the second half strong and built up a 13-point lead, but the Warriors fought back and pulled into a 42-42 tie early in the fourth quarter. A traditional three-point play by Corwin Every seconds later gave the Dutchmen the lead for good, and four free throws by junior Randy Kleinschmidt sealed Manchester's second win in three games.
"It really was a game of runs," Manchester coach Bryan Barnard said. "There were times where we played really well and other times we played poorly. But we're doing the little things better lately."
After Zachary Seman pulled Grass Lake into an 8-8 tie late in the first quarter, the Dutchmen answered with a quick 8-2 run to grab control. Kleinschmidt and Justin Welton combined for six quick points after forcing steals, and Trevor Hanewald hit a jumper, giving Manchester a six-point lead. Consecutive baskets by Steven O'Hotzke and Zach Smith pulled the Warriors to within 16-14 by the end of the quarter.
Kleinschmidt and Every helped the Dutchmen expand their lead in the second quarter. Consecutive baskets by Kleinschmidt opened the frame, then a pair of free throws and a jumper from Every gave Manchester a 24-16 lead. The teams exchanged baskets for the rest of the quarter, and the Dutchmen took a 28-22 lead into halftime.
In the first half, Kleinschmidt scored 16 of his points, while Every added eight points.
"We did a nice job getting the ball to Randy off the block where we thought the mismatches were," Barnard said. "Randy did a nice job finishing around the basket, and Corwin finished strong and scored a lot of close baskets while getting hit."
Manchester went on a 10-3 run to open the third quarter. A pair of free throws by Kleinschmidt and a putback by Welton capped the surge, giving the Dutchmen a 38-25 lead.
The Warriors didn't go quietly, however, and answered with a 12-2 run to close the quarter. Zach Mottes hit consecutive baskets, then O'Hotzke scored off a steal. Seman's putback in the closing seconds of the frame pulled Grass Lake to within 40-37.
"We had stretches when we didn't take care of the ball," Barnard said.
Smith hit a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter, then O'Hotzke buried a three-pointer, making it 42-42 with 5:37 remaining. Twenty-three seconds later, Every scored on an inside drive, drew a foul and converted the traditional three-point play, giving the Dutchmen a 45-42 lead. The play kicked off an 11-3 Manchester run over the next four minutes.
Kleinschmidt extended the lead to seven with an inside basket with three minutes left, then Manchester held the ball for over a minute, forcing the Warriors to foul. Kleinschmidt sank four shots from the stripe and Sam Brown added another free throw for the game.
"I liked that we were able to hold the ball and run out the clock late in the game," Barnard said. "We did a good job managing the clock and being smart with the ball."
Along with his 28 points, Kleinschmidt also forced seven steals and grabbed six rebounds. Every finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
"Randy has a scorer's mentality," Barnard said. "He had a good night being in the right place at the right time. (Grass Lake) came back, but Corwin helped us finish strong."
Hanewald added seven points and four rebounds, while Welton scored four points for Manchester.
The Dutchmen had to play all but the opening two minutes without senior Jarod Sawyer, who pulled a muscle in his back.
"That hurts because Jarod is a good defender and solid rebounder," Barnard said. "but Trevor (Hanewald) did a good job stepping in."
For the game, Manchester held a 30-17 advantage in rebounding. The Dutchmen also finished 13-of-18 from the free-throw line.
Seman had 13 points to lead the Warriors, while Zach Mottes added 12 points. O'Hotzke scored eight points and Smith had seven points for Grass Lake.
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