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Akron, Ohio —
Manchester saw its tournament run come to a close after falling to St. Thomas Aquinas 48-44 at the Salem Division III high school basketball district finals at Harry Cabas Gymnasium.
The Panthers, who were bidding for their first regional appearance since the 2006-07 campaign, were never able to get in sync during the contest, struggling on the offensive side of the ball in addition to committing some untimely turnovers.
Manchester finished the evening shooting 28 percent from the field (13 of 46), including 1-14 from three-point range. They also had 22 turnovers.
The Panthers hung around most of the way as no more than nine points separated the two teams. Manchester held an early 6-0 lead, while the Knights’ biggest cushion was 44-35 with 1:04 left in the game.
“We had our opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them,” said Manchester coach Gene Schinedwolf. “We had some good looks, but the ball wouldn’t go down. Turnovers also hurt us as well as missed rebounds from not blocking out. The effort was there as it’s been all season long, but we just didn’t get the job done tonight.”
The loss ends a successful season for red and black, who finish at 17-8. Meanwhile, St. Thomas (15-11) advances to the regional for the for the first time since 2004.
Manchester got out of the gates fast with a 6-0 advantage only to see the Knights draw even at 8 apiece. A three-pointer by Bryan Daily with 2:42 left in the opening period gave the Panthers a 11-8 lead, but St. Thomas would go on a 7-0 run to closeout the stanza.
Back-to-back buckets by the Knights increased the gap to 8 (19-11), but Manchester rallied to tie the count at 21-21 on a pair of Jamar Dukes free throws with 1:38 left in the second quarter.
The Knights pushed their lead back up to five (26-21) in third, but a Dukes bucket and a conventional three-point play by Austin Klein tied it up again with 5:08 to play. It would be the last time the game would be deadlocked as Anthony Moeglin put St. Thomas ahead for good (28-26) on its next possession.
The Panthers stayed within striking distance in the final eight minutes of action, trailing 37-35 with 6:05 to play. However, a 7-0 scoring spurt by the Knights over the next five minutes sealed the victory.
Dukes led Manchester with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, while Nick Peyakov had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Klein contributed 9 points and eight boards, while Daily tallied 5 points and three steals.
The Panthers’ season was full of some ups and downs as they got off to a fast start, hit a little bump in the road due to injuries, but came on strong once tournament time rolled along.
“I’m so proud of this team this year,” Schindewolf said. “They left it on the floor each and every time out. We could have folded when things weren’t going right, but a that’s a signature of this team. We had such a group group of seniors, and I couldn’t ask anything more out of them.”
Manchester saw its tournament run come to a close after falling to St. Thomas Aquinas 48-44 at the Salem Division III high school basketball district finals at Harry Cabas Gymnasium.
The Panthers, who were bidding for their first regional appearance since the 2006-07 campaign, were never able to get in sync during the contest, struggling on the offensive side of the ball in addition to committing some untimely turnovers.
Manchester finished the evening shooting 28 percent from the field (13 of 46), including 1-14 from three-point range. They also had 22 turnovers.
The Panthers hung around most of the way as no more than nine points separated the two teams. Manchester held an early 6-0 lead, while the Knights’ biggest cushion was 44-35 with 1:04 left in the game.
“We had our opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them,” said Manchester coach Gene Schinedwolf. “We had some good looks, but the ball wouldn’t go down. Turnovers also hurt us as well as missed rebounds from not blocking out. The effort was there as it’s been all season long, but we just didn’t get the job done tonight.”
The loss ends a successful season for red and black, who finish at 17-8. Meanwhile, St. Thomas (15-11) advances to the regional for the for the first time since 2004.
Manchester got out of the gates fast with a 6-0 advantage only to see the Knights draw even at 8 apiece. A three-pointer by Bryan Daily with 2:42 left in the opening period gave the Panthers a 11-8 lead, but St. Thomas would go on a 7-0 run to closeout the stanza.
Back-to-back buckets by the Knights increased the gap to 8 (19-11), but Manchester rallied to tie the count at 21-21 on a pair of Jamar Dukes free throws with 1:38 left in the second quarter.
The Knights pushed their lead back up to five (26-21) in third, but a Dukes bucket and a conventional three-point play by Austin Klein tied it up again with 5:08 to play. It would be the last time the game would be deadlocked as Anthony Moeglin put St. Thomas ahead for good (28-26) on its next possession.
The Panthers stayed within striking distance in the final eight minutes of action, trailing 37-35 with 6:05 to play. However, a 7-0 scoring spurt by the Knights over the next five minutes sealed the victory.
Dukes led Manchester with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, while Nick Peyakov had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Klein contributed 9 points and eight boards, while Daily tallied 5 points and three steals.
The Panthers’ season was full of some ups and downs as they got off to a fast start, hit a little bump in the road due to injuries, but came on strong once tournament time rolled along.
“I’m so proud of this team this year,” Schindewolf said. “They left it on the floor each and every time out. We could have folded when things weren’t going right, but a that’s a signature of this team. We had such a group group of seniors, and I couldn’t ask anything more out of them.”
