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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Dutchmen bounced by Hanover-Horton

Second quarter does in Manchester, which finishes season 10-13

By Ed Patino, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008

Needing to find a way to slow its quicker opposition, the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team knew it would have to have patience on offense and limit Hanover-Horton's possessions.

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That strategy worked for a quarter, but the Flying Dutchmen were unable to keep up the rest of the night and saw their season come to an end with a 54-39 loss to the Comets in the Class C district finals Feb. 29 at Jonesville High School.

After closing the regular season with two wins, Manchester (10-13) defeated host Jonesville and Hudson before being halted in the finals. Hanover-Horton (19-3) captured its seventh straight district championship.

After a close first quarter, the Comets took over by outscoring Manchester 18-6 in the second to build a 12-point lead by halftime. The Dutchmen kept within striking distance until midway through the fourth quarter when Hanover-Horton pulled away.

"We had a lot of trouble scoring all game long, but I credit their defense," Manchester coach Bryan Barnard said. "They increased their defensive intensity after the first quarter and we didn't match them."

Manchester held the ball for close to 30 seconds at a time on offense before shooting to counter Hanover-Horton's speedy transition game. The strategy appeared to pay off as the Dutchmen played the Comets to a 6-6 tie by the end of the first quarter.

The Dutchmen struggled on offense in the second quarter, and Hanover-Horton began to figure out Manchester's defense. While Manchester missed its first five shots and turned the ball over six times in the frame, the Comets took control with a 13-0 run over a six-minute span.

Hanover standouts Nick Schaefer and Jacob Wild led the attack, with Schaefer scoring 11 points and Wild throwing in seven points in the quarter to help the Comets build a 24-12 lead at the break.

"We didn't want to shoot quick because that allows Hanover to get transition baskets," Barnard said. "We ran into foul trouble in the second quarter, and Wild and Schaefer hurt us."

The Dutchmen began to find its offense in the third quarter and exchanged baskets with Hanover-Horton, but the Comets took a 38-24 lead into the fourth quarter. Hanover maintained its double-digit lead throughout the quarter by cleaning the glass. For the game, the Comets held a 39-18 rebounding advantage over Manchester.

"We were playing pretty good defense, but after making them work for 25-30 seconds, they would get the offensive rebound and put it in," Barnard said. "That's tough to come back from."

Trailing by 12 with five minutes remaining, Manchester tried to open an offense and press on defense but the Comets put their transition game to work. Constantly finding an opening against Manchester's defense, Hanover-Horton scored on seven of its first eight offensive possessions of the quarter and increased its lead to 50-28 and put the game out of reach.

Randy Kleinschmidt and Jarod Sawyer each scored six points to lead the Dutchmen, with Sawyer handing out two assists and Kleinschmidt grabbing four rebounds. Sam Brown, Logan Ross and Trevor Hanewald each added four points. Hanewald also had four rebounds, while Justin Welton finished with two assists for Manchester.

Wild finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Comets, while Schaefer added 14 points.

The Dutchmen dropped six of its first eight games, but recovered in mid-January with wins in three of five contests. Injuries and absences of key players plagued the team throughout the regular season. According to Barnard, the team only had about six games where Manchester had its full lineup.

The Dutchmen graduate seniors in Welton, Sawyer and Brown, but return a deep group of juniors and sophomores next year.

"We'll have more experience returning next year, but our three seniors brought a lot of toughness," Barnard said.

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