The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Cardinals take advantage of fouls to rally past Dutchmen
Manchester called for 16 fouls in second half, denied sweep
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 31, 2008
A rally in the third quarter had the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team on the verge of a big road victory Jan. 25.
Advertisement
However, after turning a halftime deficit into a five-point lead, the Flying Dutchmen ran into foul trouble in the final quarter and were dealt a 47-43 loss to the Michigan Center Cardinals in a Cascades Conference game.
Manchester (4-8, 4-4 Cascades) played its first game this season without leading scorer Randy Kleinschmidt, who suffered a foot injury a day earlier. But with Justin Welton and Jarod Sawyer leading the way, the Dutchmen erased a five-point halftime deficit and carried a 34-29 lead into the fourth. That's when the fouls started to mount, and the Cardinals hit 12-of-16 from the charity stripe and outscored Manchester 18-9 down the stretch to take back the game.
Michigan Center avenged a 61-60 loss to the Dutchmen in the teams' first meeting Dec. 14 in Manchester.
In the second half, the Dutchmen were charged with 16 fouls to Michigan Center's six.
The turning point came early in the fourth quarter. With Manchester holding a 34-33 lead, Corwin Every raced toward the basket after forcing a steal. Every made a layup, but it was negated by a charging foul. Moments later, Ethan Phillips hit a pair of free throws, giving the Cardinals a 35-34 lead.
"That was a big point because we could've been up three and had the momentum," Manchester coach Bryan Barnard said. "There were some bizarre calls, but it is what it is."
Michigan Center (9-3, 6-2 Cascades) followed up with 10 more free throws. The Dutchmen still had hope when Sawyer hit a jumper with 2:20 left, cutting the deficit to 41-38, but the free throws let the Cardinals build a seven-point lead. Welton hit a three-pointer with 5.5 seconds remaining, but Michigan Center safely inbounded the ball to clinch the win.
Defense controlled the first half. The Dutchmen matched scores with Michigan Center until Matt Walker and Michael Parker hit consecutive baskets to open the second quarter, giving the Cardinals a 14-8 lead. Corwin Every answered later in the frame with a leaning jumper, pulling Manchester to within three, but Brett Pinney answered with a basket for Michigan Center.
The Cardinals took a 19-14 lead into halftime.
"I thought we executed well in the first half, but we missed a lot of shots in the paint," Barnard said. "We had a good feeling at halftime, and I told the guys that we're not only going to score 14 points in the second half."
Manchester actually bettered that total by six in the third quarter alone. Still trailing by four, the Dutchmen swung the momentum to their side with a 14-5 run in the final 5:26 of the frame. Welton and Sam Hatt scored on consecutive drives, then Sawyer made a layup, making it 27-27. Pinney answered with a basket for the Cardinals, but a free throw by Trevor Hanewald and jumper by Sawyer gave Manchester its first lead of the night at 30-29. An inside basket by Hanewald and a pair of free throws by Clayton Every stretched the lead to 34-29 by the end of the third quarter.
"I was happy to see everyone making a contribution," Barnard said. "Our kids prepare well and follow the game plan. I thought everyone stepped up tonight."
Parker and Ken Snell opened the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets, pulling Michigan Center to within one. After the charging call against Corwin Every, Craig and Snell combined for six free throws, helping the Cardinals build a 41-36 lead midway through the frame.
Welton finished with 11 points to lead the Dutchmen. Sawyer added eight points, while Corwin Every had seven points. Hanewald finished the night with six points. Clayton Every and Logan Ross each had three points for Manchester.
"I happy with the way we fought and battled," Barnard said. "That's a good sign because we should expect to be in a lot of tight games the rest of the season."
The Dutchmen traveled to Washtenaw Christian Academy for a non-conference game Tuesday after the newspaper's deadline. Manchester returns to Cascades action today when it hosts Napoleon. The Pirates scored a 55-37 victory over the Dutchmen in the teams' first meeting of the season Dec. 20.
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
