Size advantage burns Buffs in nine-point loss to Manhattan
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Hays, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Nine months ago, Manhattan suffered one of the biggest postseason upsets in 6A. Their loss to Topeka Washburn Rural in the substate semifinals rocked the landscape of the class, and ended the Indians most successful season in school history.
So no one was surprised when Manhattan opened the 2015 season with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. And it showed down the stretch on Friday against Garden City.
Gabe Awbrey scored 14 points, Grant Munsen added 11 and nine rebounds, and No. 3 Manhattan held off a furious rally from the undersized Buffaloes for a 66-57 victory in the semifinals of the 2015 Hays Shootout.
“It was a battle,” Garden City Coach Jacy Holloway said afterwards. “But it’s the same story as yesterday; we shot below 40 percent. That has to get better, and it will.”
At times Manhattan (2-0) overwhelmed the smaller Buffaloes, outrebounding Garden City (1-1) 34-24 including a 19-11 edge in the second half. That domination helped the Indians build a 38-24 lead with 7:26 left in the third quarter.
Jared Koster had seen enough.
“We obviously ran some plays for him (Koster), and he did a good job of executing and staying focused,” Holloway said. “Jared will be fine.”
In the third quarter, Koster was more than fine; he was sensational, draining three straight treys to pull the Buffaloes to within four. He scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the period.
After the team exchanged baskets, it was Garrett Doll capping off a 21-8 spurt with a triple from the left wing that cut the deficit to one 46-45 with 20 seconds remaining in the frame.
“It gives us a lot of confidence that we were able to fight back,” Holloway said. “It just comes down to hitting shots.”
But the Indians answered the bell, and that’s as close as the brown and white got the rest of the way. Tommy Ekhart ended the third with a 3-pointer from the corner, fueling a 10-2 run that stretched the lead back to nine early in the fourth.
Garden City still had their chances in the final couple of minutes after Jesus Reyes hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:04 to go. But the Buffaloes could never string back-to-back, consistent offensive possessions together the rest of the way.
“I feel good about this team,” Holloway said. “We knew that this was going to be a big test for us.”
Reyes scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds before fouling out late in the contest. Zac Karlin added eight.
Trevor Hudgins scored 10 points for the Indians, who shot 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the floor in the second half.
Koster hit the first of a season-best six 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds of the game giving Garden City a 3-2 lead. They built their largest advantage at 10-7 with 3:54 to play in the first. But Manhattan broke the Buffaloes’ backs in the second, scoring the first nine points and the final nine of the period, outscoring Holloway’s bunch 21-13 to take a 36-24 lead into the locker room.
The win moves Manhattan into Saturday’s championship game against No. 9 Olathe North, who beat Hays 58-42. Garden City will now face off with their Western Athletic Conference-rivals in the third place game Saturday afternoon at 3:15 p.m.
Tip ins: Manhattan won their sixth straight game in the Hays Shootout…The Indians were playing in their first Hays Shootout since winning it all back in 2007…The Indians advanced to their eighth tournament title game since first coming to Hays back in 1989…Garden City shot 31 3-pointers, which is the polar opposite of last year’s offensive approach (Buffaloes shot 20 or more treys only once in 2014-2015 and that came vs. Wichita Northwest in the Valley Center Tournament-21)…Manhattan won the game despite 13 turnovers in the second half…Garden City finished 11-of-12 from the line
Next up: Garden City vs. Hays (third-place game)-Saturday, December 5-3 p.m. pregame; 3:15 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
Other Scores
Girls
TMP Marian 56, Garden City 41 (Buffaloes will play Colby in the 7th place game-9:45 a.m. pregame; 10 a.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR; tuneinradio app: KWKR
