Boys claim third place at Tournament of Champions

Greg Woods, Online Editor-in-Chief

After completing nearly the first two months of a season with an unblemished record, at 10-0, the Manhattan High boys basketball team’s unbeaten streak came to an end on Saturday.

The loss came at the hands of Wichita East at the Tournament of Champions in Dodge City, a 57-53 defeat.

The good news for the Indians, however, was that they won the games sandwiching Saturday’s loss — a 55-35 blowout of Hutchinson Thursday in the opening round of the tournament, and a 70-53 rout over Maize Saturday afternoon. The 2-1 record was good for a third-place finish and bronze medals for each of the players.

The demolition of Hutchinson began nearly as soon as the game began. Manhattan bolted out to a 13-5 lead after the first frame, and though the Salthawks rallied in the second quarter and slowed the machine that is the Indians’ combination of zone defense and quick offense, Manhattan entered halftime with a 25-14 advantage.

Hutchinson clawed to as close as five in the third quarter, but the Indians’ 36-26 lead after three led to a fourth-quarter walkover. Manhattan outscored the Salthawks 19-9 in the fourth on its way to the 55-35 win.

Manhattan’s matchup with Wichita East didn’t seem likely on Thursday —  after trailing Hays by 11 in the final 90 seconds, the Aces ended the contest on a 13-0 run and escaped with a win.

But perhaps it was a matchup to be, an anticipated one at that: East’s roster includes K-State-turned-Clemson commit Xavier Kelly, as well as his brother Elijah Kelly.

But it was a game the Indians could not hold on to, falling in overtime after they had a chance to end it in regulation. Senior Gabe Awbrey missed two free throws that would have put his team up two with less than three seconds remaining.

In overtime, fellow senior Grant Munsen also missed two free throws, two that would have tied the game.

But the escape-artist Aces squeaked by with another win, ending Manhattan’s historic unbeaten start to the season.

“I just missed them. I think that’s the first time all year that I’ve missed two free throws in a row,” Awbrey said. “I should have knocked them down.”  

If MHS harbored any frustrations over Friday’s loss on Saturday, they unleashed them on Maize, the second-ranked team in 5A, in the third-place game. And Trevor Hudgins had a lot to do with it.

The junior was the Indians’ lone selection to the All-Tournament team on top of being named Most Inspirational Player, and understandably so: he tallied 16 points en route to his team’s 70-53 win.

“They pressed early in the fourth, and so I knew their bigs were slower than us, so [I] just blew past them,” Hudgins said. “Tried to feed people, try to get some easy looks.”

Manhattan suffocated the Eagles all game long with its flagship 2-3 zone and rolled offensively. The Indians led 21-11 after one and 34-19 at halftime, but Maize was not content to roll over and die.

Instead, the Eagles opened the third quarter on a tear and pulled to within four late in the frame, at 42-38. Entering the fourth period, Manhattan’s advantage was whittled to 46-40.

But the same player that engineered his team’s hot start made certain it would not lose its momentum.

Or the game.

Hudgins returned to form in the fourth, ensuring his team’s third-place finish.

“I thought we did really good, but we could fix some things,” Hudgins said. “I’ll give credit to Wichita East on beating us.”

The Indians, now with a number greater than zero in the loss column, hit the road again on Saturday to take on Emporia.