The momentum the Manhattan High boys basketball team built up Friday night in its 66-56 win over Topeka High vanished seemingly just as quickly as the game neared its conclusion.

Just minutes after putting 20 points between themselves and the Trojans in the third period, the Indians saw their lead whittled down to just 10 at the 2:40 mark of the fourth frame. Topeka’s Terry Smith III finished on a layup, and the once-clamorous, jersey-clad MHS student section grew restless. For that matter, the cries of jubilee were those of Trojan fans.

Fortunately for Manhattan, though, 10 was as close as Topeka High climbed within.

The rest of the frame was a back-and-forth affair, but a Grant Munsen putback and two free throws from junior Trevor Hudgins were enough for the nail in the coffin.

“I don’t think anybody wearing a Manhattan jersey was very happy with the way the fourth quarter went,” head coach Benji George said. “We kind of lost our competitive drive, especially, I think, on defense. We got careless with the basketball a little bit.”

Senior Gabe Awbrey, who finished with a game-high 17 points, agreed.

“We weren’t mentally tough enough to finish it out; we’ve just got to sure that up,” Awbrey said. “If we want to be a top team in the state, we have to finish games stronger.”

“We’re not happy with the fourth quarter,” George said, “but we did enough before that to come out on top.”

That “enough” George referenced was, largely, the third quarter.

Manhattan outscored Topeka 18-6 in the frame, a frame that handed the Indians all the momentum the MHS North Gym could offer. Junior Cade Roberts led a deciding 10-1 run midway through the period, and his team’s advantage ballooned to 43-28.

Manhattan’s swarming, full-court press forced Topeka High into five turnovers in the third, an aspect George said ignited the run.

“I thought it started on the defensive end,” he said. “We contested shots, rebounded the ball, and then our press really worked well in the third quarter as they got fatigued.”

For as momentum-shifting as the third frame was, however, Manhattan established its lead even earlier. The Indians took an 18-13 lead after one, and a triple from Awbrey and two from junior Tommy Ekart led to a double-digit lead. After coughing up the ball seven times in the first period, MHS tidied things up and took a 33-25 lead into the intermission.

Topeka’s John Madden finished with 11 points and five rebounds and was a force underneath. The 6-6 senior was the source of much of the physicality around the basket, a player Manhattan senior Grant Munsen, who totaled six points and six rebounds, was charged with defending at times.

“[It was] definitely physical,” he said. “They were big. We knew they were going to be big coming in. The refs kind of let us play underneath, so it was pretty physical.”

George reiterated just how appreciated Munsen is, in the case of Friday night, facing the challenge of Madden, who had Munsen beat in the height and build categories.

“He’s really our x-factor,” George said. “With rebounding, defense, he does so much for us. He’s kind of invaluable.”

While Munsen was not guarding Madden, though, Roberts filled Munsen’s shoes. Roberts said gauging Madden’s mannerisms while on the bench allowed for his defensive blueprint.

“I was trying to get a read on him, and his strong suit. I knew he was strong right-handed, but weak left,” Roberts, who finished with 12 points and three rebounds, said. “When I came in, I don’t know if [Madden] was tired or didn’t want to body me up or something, but I just played him easy. I don’t think he really hurt me too much or hurt the team too much.”

The Indians netted just three of 12 three-pointers Friday night, somewhat of a contrast compared to the way they have sealed wins in past games. Some of the difference can be attributed to the quick, up-and-down style of play that led to baskets in transition, George explained.

“We just found other ways to score,” George said. “I thought we ran the floor pretty well. Our press created some of our offense; our defense created some of our offense.”

Manhattan used an 11-for-12 mark at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to secure its perfect 7-0 start, the first such start since the 1988-89 team also raced out to seven consecutive wins. The achievement is just one of what hopes George hopes will turn into more.

“I told them just keep knocking down barriers,” he said. “Keep doing things that other teams haven’t done before. They have a lot of pride in that, and it’s something that they are hungry about.”

Manhattan now turns its attention to a Tuesday showdown on the road against the very team that ended its sub-state run a year ago: Washburn Rural.

“[There will be] definitely a lot of fire, especially at Washburn,” Munsen said. “Being undefeated, keeping the good season going, I think there’s going to be a lot of fire in the team.”

Awbrey echoed Munsen’s sentiment, but rather curtly, with a confident, assertive expression on his face.

“We’ll be ready for them,” he said.