Manual basketball wins sectional title, eyes state finals appearance
· Yahoo Sports
CHILLICOTHE — Sure, Manual relished in its Sweet Sixteen victory, but it's not quite the celebration the Rams want.
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Fifth-ranked Manual hit 14 fourth-quarter free throws to hold off upstart Warsaw West Hancock, 57-41, on Friday in the Class 2A Chillicothe Sectional championship. The Rams (22-9) advance to the 7 p.m. Monday supersectional at Sterling and face unranked Johnsburg (24-11).
"We've been here before," Manual coach Marvin Jordan said. "A lot of these guys have, but also too, we will celebrate this for tonight, but we're on to the next one right away. Probably as soon as we get on the bus."
West Hancock had cut its double-digit deficit to 37-32 heading into the final eight minutes. That's when Manual took the air out of the ball, worked to run out the clock and forced the Titans to foul.
The result? Manual scored 20 fourth-quarter points, making 14-of-20 free throws. Josh Humbles put a seal on the victory with a steal and layup. The 6-foot-3 senior forward finished with a team-high 19 points and hit 8-for-10 freebies in the fourth.
"We wanted to attack," he said, "but they were playing back, so we just stayed aggressive and made them foul. We didn't have to rush anything. We just forced them to foul and make our free throws. We won the game by making free throws."
"... Everybody that came to support us, we showed out for them and showed them who we are."
Manual started fast and jumped out to a 12-2 first-quarter lead after scoring eight points in 57 seconds off five turnovers. Back-to-back baskets from Reggie Postlewaite and Jaquan Brown put Manual up 17-4.
Three turnovers later and Manual already had eight for the game and a 19-10 lead after the opening quarter.
"That's been Manual tradition all year, every year," Postlewaite said of a defense that forced 25 turnovers in the game. "... We stay locked in on defense."
"We never know when our shots will fall, but we can hang our hat on how hard we will play on defense and if we can get stops. I feel like that's always important for us and it's a big key to the success we have."
Fast forward to the third quarter where Manual led by 16 when West Hancock made its push. In the final 6:07 of the quarter, the Titans went on a 13-2 stretch, getting a pair of three-point plays from Cooper Knowles and Hunter Froman and making it the five-point game.
Knowles finished with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, while using his 6-foot-10 frame to block and alter a handful of shots.
"I think March Madness was in effect," Jordan said of the third quarter. "It happens. There's going to be dry spells. There's going to be runs. ... It's about our defense again. We didn't score much, but we were able to hold them off enough to keep a cushion and keep a lead and maintain that."
Postlewaite added 15 points for Manual, which got 11 from Tahj Tolliver. Froman, who scored 31 in Tuesday's sectional semifinal win, chipped in 13 points for West Hancock.
Manual has now won 26 sectionals and looks for a record-setting 25th state finals appearance with Monday's Elite Eight victory.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA boys basketball: Manual wins sectional title