By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
When Washburn Rural’s Kiefer O'Connor drained a 3-pointer to tie Manhattan 58-58 with 5.1 seconds remaining in overtime Friday, elation was mixed with trepidation. That was too much time, particularly when Manhattan senior Vince Doering received the inbounds pass and raced up court.
Senior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with 23 points in Friday's 60-58 overtime loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/TSN]
Doering had been hitting big shots all night, and the senior dribbled the length of the floor, pierced the Junior Blue defense and flipped in a layup for the 60-58 win just as the buzzer sounded.
Doering’s heroics foiled a valiant battle by the Junior Blues on their Senior Night. Trailing by six points with 4:52 left in regulation, Washburn Rural put together a 7-0 run to take a 41-40 lead with 3:11 remaining. But they couldn’t hold it and needed a shot by senior John Hoytal to send the game to overtime tied 46-46.
The Junior Blues never led in overtime, but tied it on O’Connor's three to give themselves a chance. After a timeout, they loaded up to defend the inbounds pass, with coach Alex Hutchins' instructions fresh in their minds:
“’Don’t get beat off the dribble. Don’t let them get downhill,’ Hutchins said. “That’s pretty much the only thing we said was, ‘Don’t let them get downhill.’ And then we did.”
Having already locked up sole possession of the Centennial League crown in their previous game, Manhattan was playing for Claaa 6A sub-state positioning. When Doering’s shot fell, the entire Indians’ team celebrated in the corner of the gym while the Junior Blues shuffled off.
“Tough to tell how everybody’s doing. I’m sure we’ve got a lot of guys that are hurting,” Hutchins said. “We’ve been in this scenario a lot this year, and too often we’ve not found a way to make the final play and get it done. We say we keep learning and we’re knocking on the door, and hopefully at some point we will kick the door down. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t that night, but hopefully it’s the next one.
“I thought we did a pretty darn good job defensively most of the night and gave ourselves a chance. We coughed the ball up and turned it over way too many times. But the fact we are still within striking distance is a testament to the defensive end.”
Hoytal led the Junior Blues with 23 points, the only member of the team to crack double figures. Washburn Rural fell to 11-11 on the year, 4-6 in the Centennial League.
While sub-state assignments wouldn’t be announced until Saturday, Hutchins said that the Junior Blues will play at Topeka High to open the playoffs.
“We’re playing a team that has beat us twice, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. But I think the other option was going to be to drive to Garden (City), so at least we don’t have to do that,” Hutchins said. “But (Topeka High) is a hot team, so we’re gonna have to have an even better defensive performance than we had tonight.”
MANHATTAN BOYS 60, WASHBURN RURAL 58
Manhattan 7 14 13 12 14 -- 60
Washburn Rural 11 9 9 17 12 -- 58
Manhattan (15-7, 7-3) – Carpenter 4-12 1-1 12, Doering 11-16 3-4 29, S. Newton 2-9 1-6 5, Witt 1-4 0-0 3, Washington 4-7 1-5 9, A. Newton 0-1 0-0 0, Duff 0-1 2-2 2, Braxmeyer 0-1 0-0 0, Hattrup 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 8-18 60.
Washburn Rural (11-11, 4-6) – Ballard 2-12 0-0 6, Hoytal 9-15 4-6 23, O’Connor 4-7 0-0 9, Chooncharoen 1-2 2-2 5, Schmidt 2-2 3-3 7, Nimz 2-4 0-1 4, Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 0-0 2, Bradley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 9-12 58.
3-point goals – Manhattan 8 (Doering 4, Carpenter 3, Witt), Washburn Rural 5 (Ballard 2, Hoytal, O’Connor, Chooncharoen). Total fouls – Manhattan 14, Washburn Rural 17. Fouled out – Nimz. Technical fouls – None.
