By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
The Class 6A No. 10-ranked Washburn Rural boys led by seven points in the final three minutes against Manhattan on Friday night before the Junior Blues suffered their first Centennial League matchup of the year, 60-58, in heartbreaking fashion on a buzzer-beater by Indian senior Dre Delort.
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 15 points in Friday's 60-58 Centennial League loss to Manhattan at Rural. [File photo/TSN]
“If you look at the whole game aside from the third quarter we just weren’t very strong with the ball,” said Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins. “And then closing late we gotta guard. We gave up I think nine points in the last minute and a half so we just got to get stops to finish a game.”
Rural scored 23 points in the third quarter but was held to 10 in the final frame as the team's four-game win streak was snapped.
“In the third quarter we were strong and aggressive and didn’t play on our heels which was the biggest thing,” Hutchins said.
Hutchins is hoping to find consistency as the team moves into the back half of its season.
“Our guys are probably chomping at the bit wanting to get back on the court but we just got to be consistent, that’s the biggest thing. Every game we have shown flashes of great and we have shown flashes of awful, we just have to be more consistent,” Hutchins said.
Washburn Rural played its traditional, balanced style early on, with five players scoring in the first quarter.
Both teams went back and forth for the entire game, after eight minutes the Indians led, 14-13.
Senior Jack Wilson was rolling early on for Manhattan, scoring 11 points in the first half. The Junior Blues trailed by as many as five before scoring the final four points of the quarter to keep the deficit at just one point.
Washburn Rural’s offense broke out in the third thanks to a lot of passing and movement along with timely shots from the outside. Senior Jack Bachelor had six points in the quarter where the Junior Blues quickly took a lead.
Sophomore Kaden Ballard knocked in two 3-pointers in the quarter, the second giving Washburn Rural a nine-point lead, its largest of the night.
With the lead between five and eight points early in the fourth quarter the Junior Blues attempted to sit on the ball and drain the clock and were successful through the first five minutes.
Bachelor made one free throw to put Washburn Rural up by three with just over a minute remaining. Delort erased all three points, converting a 3-point play the old-fashioned way to tie it up at 58.
“One of the things you notice about them, and they won state football, is the physicality. They are strong and aggressive and physical and I think that affected us with the ball,” Hutchins said.
The Junior Blues turned it over on the next possession with 5.9 seconds remaining. It was enough time for Delort to drive the length of the court and finish with his left hand as the time expired to win on the road, 60-58.
Bachelor scored 15 to lead Washburn Rural, while Ballard scored 12 points and sophomore Amare Jones 11 on three of four shooting.
The Indians were led by Wilson who had 17 points. Senior Cole Koonrod and junior Jason Kim each reached double digits with 10 points in the win.
Rural’s next chance to bounce back will come at the Pittsburg Invitational beginning on Jan. 19.
MANHATTAN BOYS 60, WASHBURN RURAL 58
Manhattan 14 11 17 18-- 60
Washburn Rural 13 11 23 10 -- 58
Manhattan (6-3, 2-1) – Kim 3-8 2-2 10, Delort 2-3 1-3 5, Knopp 0-0 0-0 0, Stanard 0-0 0-0 0, Braxmeyer 0-1 0-0 0, Schartz 1-2 0-0 3, Coonrod 4-5 0-0 10, Elumogo 2-4 2-2 7, McNabb 2-3 4-6 8, Wilson 6-12 4-4 17. Totals: 20-38 13-17 60.
Washburn Rural (6-3 3-1) – Jones 3-4 4-5 11, Ballard 5-9 0-1 12, Morris 1-3 0-0 3, Hirschi 2-6 0-0 6, Bachelor 4-10 7-9 15, Durst 1-1 0-0 2, Heim 2-5 1-2 5, Bettis 2-4 0-1 4. Totals: 20-42 12-18 58.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 6 (Ballard 2, Hirschi 2, Jones 1, Morris 1), Manhattan 7 (Kim 2, Coonrod 2, Elumogo 1, Wilson 1, Schartz 1). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 14, Manhattan 19. Technical fouls – Manhattan (Wilson 1). Fouled out – None.
