The Manchester Squires are headed to their first ever IHSAA state finals for boys basketball. Don’t let that get lose in the headline or the stories from semi state weekend.
Manchester picked up two wins on Saturday to earn their spot at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Homestead, the only other area team still playing this past weekend, was not so lucky. While the Spartans ran into a tough Crown Point team, Manchester survived two really tough games to make to the state finals. But we will get to that more later.
For Homestead, the run to get to semi state was a bit of a surprise. So in that regard, while there was sorrow, there had to have been some contentment for the Spartans too. Homestead got there, for those who may not be aware, thanks to a Sectional title win over Wayne and Regional title win over Carroll. That is avenging a regular season loss to the three peat laden Wayne, who has had Homestead’s number in recent years and then ending the special run of rival Carroll on back-to-back Saturdays. That goes a long way for a Homestead team who was without a true “star.”
Mack Welker may be that star going forward. After a decent freshman season where he had really flashy moments come and go, Welker’s star power grew significantly down the stretch of the season and through the playoffs. He is a high level scorer, even putting up 17 of Homestead’s 29 points in Saturday’s loss to Crown Point. The Spartans could thrive next year returning both Welker and fellow current sophomore Jake Coolman.
Getting to semi state too is a great impression for the Spartan coaching staff and legendary head man Chris Johnson. Rarely during Johnson’s tenure has he had to rely on young and/or unproven talent to succeed. But that was the hand he was dealt during the 2023-24 season after losing four players to transfer and a tragic accident forcing best player Will Jamison to miss the majority of his senior season. It meant that Johnson, his staff and his players all needed to play to a higher level and develop quicker last season. Without that development, Homestead wouldn’t have been in the position to make semi state this season.
Crown Point was a game opponent on Saturday morning, although they fell to unbeaten Fishers later Saturday night. The Spartans’ defense was still solid opposite Crown Point, holding the Bulldogs to nearly 28 points lower than their season scoring average.
Nobody wants moral wins ever; even less want them on semi state Saturday. But that is what Bounce is going to give Homestead. They weren’t the biggest and they weren’t the best. But there they were on semi state weekend because of the tenacity and growth for these guys, for seniors like Josh Rodgers, Aidan Good, Owen Smith and Wyatt Weaver, among so many others. There has been and will be sorrow for the Homestead basketball community, but this run has been a pretty nice success for one of the area’s more storied programs still.
On the flip side of that is Manchester. There is no sorrow for the Squires right now. In fact, they have to be the complete opposite of that, on cloud nine as they prepare for the biggest week of their high school playing and coaching careers.
Like with Homestead, it has to start on the sideline. Eli Henson left a really good spot when he exited Whitko at the end of the 2019-20 season in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. He found success at Whitko, as he did at North White beforehand with a Sectional crown. He went to Manchester and has had winning seasons in four of the five he has been at the helm of the Squires. After back to back 18 win seasons, Henson has the Squires at 25-2, the first 20-win season for the program since going 23-1 in 1994-95. And even then, it ended with a Regional loss, not playing for a state title.
In the noon game opposite Jimtown, the contest went back and forth at times, but the Squires were able to hold a 45-39 advantage after three quarters. Then, Jimtown started implementing some dominant play down the stretch over about six minutes. Manchester was outscored 15-6 in the fourth as the clock worked towards the 90 second mark. It worked right down to the closing seconds and with Jimtown keying on dominant Gavin Betten, it was his right hand man Ethan Hendrix who stepped up. The Jimmies were defending the three point line well so Hendrix had to take a bit of a deeper shot to put Manchester ahead by one point with a no doubter triple with 8.6 second left in the game. The Squires held on to win 56-55.
Hendrix led Manchester in the first game with 19 points, while Betten scored 16 and Tallon Torpy added 10.
At night, it was Gary 21st Century that gave Manchester one heck of a game. Manchester had a lot of the game in control in the fourth, but 21st Century never stopped rallying. A Ronald Mosley three pointer with 1:09 left in the game cut Manchester’s lead to 47-44. The game continued to be feisty in the closing minute, including a trade of free throws spanning from a foul on 21st Century and a technical on Manchester. The Squires lead would be in critical danger in the closing seconds as it would be cut to two points and 21st Century would tally a steal but come up empty on the offensive end. Again, Manchester held on to the win, 53-50. Betten led Manchester this time with 22 points, while Hendrix scored 16.
While Jimtown would score more than their average, Manchester’s defense through the day helped lead them as much as their offense; they held 21st Century to 20 points under their average.
Manchester’s story is a cool one. They are a small town team. They aren’t well known. Gavin Betten, who’s Saturday should not be ignored, is the best player in Northeast Indiana that not enough people around Greater Fort Wayne know enough about. He should be an Indiana All-Star and also should be in consideration for Mr. Basketball. On Saturday, Betten scored 38 points, had 28 rebounds and six blocks over two games. That and a trip to next Saturday’s state finals makes Manchester one of the best stories in the state. On a Saturday where names like Fishers, Crispus Attucks and South Bend St. Joe play for state titles, Manchester is one of the most unknowns.
The excitement felt at Manchester should be felt throughout our area. The Squires are, in many ways, that Cinderella story for those who don’t know enough about Henson and Betten and Hendrix and this entire squad. And you can’t replicate that type of triumphant material.
OTHER NOTES
It would be wild to not mention a record breaking set of moments in the semi state round, even if it wasn’t for a local team.
South Bend St. Joe had the best scoring semi state round in the history of the state this past Saturday. In the first game, they scored 115 points in a win over Maconaquah, who scored a not too shabby 81 themselves. But could you imagine getting to semi state, scoring 81 and still losing by 34. Now, Bounce wasn’t there and has not watched the film but the fact that St. Joe took 74 shots in a 32 minute game is beyond wild.
The last team to surpass 100 points in the semi state round was Liberty Christian’s 103 in 2016. South Bend St. Joe though does take the record for most point scored in a semi state game, previously held by Michigan City Rogers’ 108 in 1986.
South Bend St. Joe ended up scoring 199 points total in their two wins, a record for a two-game semi state. According to John Harrell, the 199 points is most in two consecutive postseason games in Indiana state history.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
Could not agree more with regarding Gavin Betten. In addition to his outstanding high school career he has had a tremendous AAU career, playing in the EYBL, UAA and Pro16 teams based out of Westfield and Ft Wayne so it befuddles me why he is unknown?