he Manhattan boys basketball team currently sits at an 8-4 record half way through the regular season with a lot of tough games ahead of them. 

Since MHS played in the Hays tournament in December, they have gone on to win a lot of big games but fall short in others. Manhattan opened up at home against Hays where they would stun the crowd as Manhattan shot 53% from the field and 47 from beyond the arch. MHS  kept pushing and held a lead the whole game,coming out on top 60-44.

Manhattan would then travel to Dodge City where they would show how strong their defense is as they finished the game allowing only 32 points and putting up 32 rebounds and 15 steals in a 59-32 blowout win for the Indians.

“We played one of our best defensive games all year and we all worked really hard for this win,” senior Collins Elumogu said. 

MHS would come back home for their next game against Topeka High were they would go down early in the first half but would make their way back into the game as they trailed by one at the half. During the third quarter is where Manhattan shined as they outscored Topeka 15-5 in the third which would be enough for MHS to hold onto the lead and win 56-46 to go on a five game win streak.

Later that week MHS traveled to Wichita to face off against Kapaun Mt. Carmel. Manhattan fought their way to only a three-point deficit at the end of the first but Kapaun proved to be too strong as they took a 16-point lead at the half. Manhattan came out in the second scoring most of the chances they had but Kapuan would go right back down the court and score. MHS ended up falling to Kapaun 70-52.

“This is one of the better teams we will play all year but I think asa team we could have done a lot better and we have a lot to improve on,” senior Jack Wilson said.

Next Manhattan played at Junction City against the Blue Jays where they fell just short of the Blue Jays 53-46. MHS only shot 18% from three as a season low. However, MHS bounced back in their next game against Washburn Rural, where both teams put up a fight in the first half as Manhattan held a one-point lead at the half. Manhattan fought through the third but would fall behind by six. Going into the fourth it looked like Washburn had the game in their hands as they held an 8-point lead with seven minutes left but MHS would come back with a strike as they would erase their deficit at the minute mark tied up at 58. Both teams would have chances but could not make the shot until with 10 seconds left senior Dre Delort drove down the court for a layup at the buzzer to win a thriller on the road 60-58.

“I knew I had to get down there fast then I saw the lane open and I drove down to take the layup and I was in shock after I made it,” Delort said.

Manhattan’s three games over the weekend were played in the McPherson tournament, placing second. In the first game they held on against Shawnee Mission East, winning 42-40. In the second game Manhattan would play the one-seeded McPherson and stun them as they dominated the whole game to come out on top 57-46. In Manhattan’s final game of the weekend, with a chance to win the tournament, they were not able to get any offense started and the St. James Academy Thunder would overpower them as MHS lost in a blowout 61-39.

“We played really well through are first two games and fell down in our third but I think we played really well and have improved a lot from last season,” Elumogo said.