As the final pregame buzzer sounded Saturday night in Emporia, before a thinly scattered crowd, Benji George implored his team to make the game “all about defense.”

The Manhattan High boys basketball team’s head coach has made his message much the same over the course of the season so far, a message that, before Saturday, had done its part to earn the Indians an 11-1 start.

It became 12-1 Saturday night when Manhattan ran over the Spartans, 54-35.

And indeed, the Indians’ defense played an vital role, perhaps most personified by Tommy Ekart. On top of finishing with a game-high 14 points, the junior guard hounded whichever players Emporia assigned to the perimeter, just in line with the breed of player he has molded himself into as the 2015 season wears on.

With the slashing personality he possesses, Ekart did his best to amplify the game’s pace, but the frenetic tempo the Indians prefer to play at didn’t reach its apogee until the third quarter.

That’s when, after entering the intermission up just six at 26-20, Manhattan ripped off a 13-2 run to open the second half, including 11 straight — good for a 17-point lead late in the frame, due in large part to the heightened, full-court, swarming defense of MHS.

“Our press relies on fatigue becoming a factor, and in the first half, fatigue’s not going to be as much of a factor,” George said. “But I think it really showed, as the third quarter wore on, that fatigue started to become a factor. And that’s where they made some mistakes, and we get some run-outs.”

Manhattan’s lead ballooned even larger as the fourth period came to a close, but the Spartans did not cave after the Indians’ third-quarter run.

Instead, Emporia clawed right back. Immediately following Manhattan’s 11-0 run, the Spartans tallied nine straight points and closed the gap to eight, at 39-31, with seven minutes to play. A certain uneasiness hovered over the Indian side of the crowd.

But it did not linger for long. MHS broke off the Spartans’ brief encounter with momentum by going on another run, this one an 11-3 surge in the final period.

And by then, an Emporia comeback was an unreachable distance down the road. The Manhattan defense had, on an infrequent Saturday game, smothered its way to a win.

“We’ve been pretty strong in the third quarter this year, and we kind of pride ourselves on that,” Ekart said. “We always want to put a run on top of a run.”

But the relentless, staunch tendencies the Indians’ defense brought in the second half were only present in shades for the first 16 minutes. Emporia, though it missed its fair share of them, converted on a number of looks inside in the first half, exposing a hole in his defense George was not pleased with. A back-and-forth affair handed MHS a 16-12 lead after the first quarter.

“I did not like where our defense was at in the first half at times. I felt like we got a little bit lucky at times,” George said. “I told the guys, ‘let’s be honest with ourselves: we got a little bit lucky. They missed some open looks at the rim.’ And so we challenged them defensively.”

The Indians responded emphatically to the challenge. They allowed just 15 points in the second half, and the 35 total ties for the least amount Manhattan has allowed in its historic 12-1 start to the 2015-16 campaign.

And at the core of the effort on defense has remained Ekart. His tireless, fever style of play keep whatever blueprint George draws up churning, and the head coach praised his efforts.

“He’s so athletic. He’s so quick. He surprises people with his quickness,” George said. “He’s probably the most competitive guy that we have, at least he shows it. He wears it on his skin.”

Offensively, however, the night was one that saw a balanced scoring effort, as aside from Ekart’s 14, MHS was led by senior Grant Munsen’s 11. The Indians’ leading scorer in senior Gabe Awbrey, who has registered games with as many as 32, posted just 10 points.

George, though, said the last thing on Awbrey’s mind is his individual yield, opting instead for his team’s gain.

“Gabe is as selfless a leader as I’ve ever been around,” George said. “It wouldn’t matter to Gabe if he scored zero, 20 or 40 points. If the team plays well and we get a win and we play great defense, he’s going to be thrilled about it…. I don’t think it truly matters all that much how many points he scores, as long as we play well and get the win.”

Toting just a single blemish on the win-loss record into February, Manhattan now turns its attention to a road contest against Topeka West Friday.

And though his team’s defense was the storyline Saturday night, George’s attention will be on the Chargers’, who run the polar opposite of Emporia.

“We’re going to have to get ready for all zone. Tonight, I don’t think we saw a possession of zone defense,” he said. “Friday, we’re probably not going to see a possession of man defense. It’s definitely going to be a shift.”

For now, though, Manhattan can revel in what has been not only a remarkable beginning to the season, but, as junior Trevor Hudgins explained, an enjoyable one.

“It’s been real fun,” he said. “There’s been some goofy times; some hard times with that Wichita East loss, but overall it’s been really fun.”