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Thursday afternoon’s contest between Manhattan and Hutchinson was a billing of two teams attempting to find an identity as they entered the Tournament of Champions.
Hutchinson would be the one finding their stride as the Salt Hawks move on to face Wichita East in the semifinals with a 50-36 win over the Indians.
“It took defensive intensity to win the game today, I don’t think we came out very good defensively, in terms of our intensity, I think it took us a little while to get going,” said Hutchinson head coach Nathan Henry. “But once the intensity and effort picked up, we played a lot better and I really think it was just picking up our defensive level. Once we did that, it was a much better game for us and obviously knocking down shots helps when you’re struggling defensively,”
The game would start off as a struggle for the Salt Hawks, as they couldn’t manage to crack the Indian defense, falling behind 5-2 early on after some fine plays from Deante’ Burton of Manhattan.
The Indians, despite their hot start, began to cool off as the Hawks finally found their bearings, scoring a couple of key buckets as the first quarter wound down.
After a steal by junior Tanner Higgins, the 5-foot-7 guard used a layup to pull the Salt Hawks with one. With the final seconds winding off the clock, Hutchinson found a crease on the inside of the Indian defense, allowing them to capitalize and give them a 9-8 lead after the end of one.
The second quarter would be a defensive struggle between both squads as they attempted to gain an advantage during their first round contest.
As had been the theme of the first quarter, the second quarter ended in a flurry of offense, as Higgins knocked down a deep three for the Hawks, which was matched by a deeper three from Brandon Payne. Not to be outdone, Higgins had the last laugh, nailing another triple from the top of the key, giving the Hawks a 21-20 lead.
After a turnover by Manhattan gave the ball back to Hutch with less than 10 seconds to play, senior Ronald Royd danced through the middle of the Indian defense, laying the ball up and in as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving them a three-point cushion going into the break.
Both teams would look to buck the trend of slow starts in the third quarter, as both the Indians and Salt Hawks began hitting their rhythm in the half court.
Higgins, continuing his scorching end to the first half, came out and nailed two threes early in the half to stretch the Hutchinson lead even further.
Burton would do his best to bring the Indians back, working his way inside with a treasure trove of nifty moves.
However, Lucas Munds and the Salt Hawks would not allow the Indians to climb within striking distance, as they pushed their lead to 40-30 by the end of the third.
The final quarter would take the shape of the first two, as both teams had problems getting the ball to fall in the net. The first point would be scored on a Munds free throw after a breakaway foul.
Down 41-30, the Indians found some success as they began to some full-court pressure on the Hawks, earning a couple of trip to the free throw line to put some points on the board with the clocked stopped.
But the Indians just couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities, as most of the free throws found nothing but rim.
Those missed chances would ultimately cost the Indians a chance at moving on to the semifinals, as Hutch escaped the arena with a round one victory.
For Henry, it was all about his team adjusting to the new venue, as his squad will move on to face off with the Blue Aces at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
“It was different, especially with the spacing in the background, it’s a lot deeper than your normal backdrop in a basketball court, the sound is a little different, so maybe you don’t handle the ball as well and I think that’s why we had to have good defensive effort and intensity,” he said.
The Salt Hawks were led by Royd who had a career-high 15 points and also dished out six assists, while Higgins finished with 14 points thanks to his four three-pointers. They finished at 41.5 percent from the field, while the one area that hurt the Indians was their free throw shooting, going 3-for-14 from the line.
Now Hutchinson will take on the Aces tonight, while the Indians will play the 2 p.m. game against Ulysses.
Thursday afternoon’s contest between Manhattan and Hutchinson was a billing of two teams attempting to find an identity as they entered the Tournament of Champions.
Hutchinson would be the one finding their stride as the Salt Hawks move on to face Wichita East in the semifinals with a 50-36 win over the Indians.
“It took defensive intensity to win the game today, I don’t think we came out very good defensively, in terms of our intensity, I think it took us a little while to get going,” said Hutchinson head coach Nathan Henry. “But once the intensity and effort picked up, we played a lot better and I really think it was just picking up our defensive level. Once we did that, it was a much better game for us and obviously knocking down shots helps when you’re struggling defensively,”
The game would start off as a struggle for the Salt Hawks, as they couldn’t manage to crack the Indian defense, falling behind 5-2 early on after some fine plays from Deante’ Burton of Manhattan.
The Indians, despite their hot start, began to cool off as the Hawks finally found their bearings, scoring a couple of key buckets as the first quarter wound down.
After a steal by junior Tanner Higgins, the 5-foot-7 guard used a layup to pull the Salt Hawks with one. With the final seconds winding off the clock, Hutchinson found a crease on the inside of the Indian defense, allowing them to capitalize and give them a 9-8 lead after the end of one.
The second quarter would be a defensive struggle between both squads as they attempted to gain an advantage during their first round contest.
As had been the theme of the first quarter, the second quarter ended in a flurry of offense, as Higgins knocked down a deep three for the Hawks, which was matched by a deeper three from Brandon Payne. Not to be outdone, Higgins had the last laugh, nailing another triple from the top of the key, giving the Hawks a 21-20 lead.
After a turnover by Manhattan gave the ball back to Hutch with less than 10 seconds to play, senior Ronald Royd danced through the middle of the Indian defense, laying the ball up and in as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving them a three-point cushion going into the break.
Both teams would look to buck the trend of slow starts in the third quarter, as both the Indians and Salt Hawks began hitting their rhythm in the half court.
Higgins, continuing his scorching end to the first half, came out and nailed two threes early in the half to stretch the Hutchinson lead even further.
Burton would do his best to bring the Indians back, working his way inside with a treasure trove of nifty moves.
However, Lucas Munds and the Salt Hawks would not allow the Indians to climb within striking distance, as they pushed their lead to 40-30 by the end of the third.
The final quarter would take the shape of the first two, as both teams had problems getting the ball to fall in the net. The first point would be scored on a Munds free throw after a breakaway foul.
Down 41-30, the Indians found some success as they began to some full-court pressure on the Hawks, earning a couple of trip to the free throw line to put some points on the board with the clocked stopped.
But the Indians just couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities, as most of the free throws found nothing but rim.
Those missed chances would ultimately cost the Indians a chance at moving on to the semifinals, as Hutch escaped the arena with a round one victory.
For Henry, it was all about his team adjusting to the new venue, as his squad will move on to face off with the Blue Aces at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
“It was different, especially with the spacing in the background, it’s a lot deeper than your normal backdrop in a basketball court, the sound is a little different, so maybe you don’t handle the ball as well and I think that’s why we had to have good defensive effort and intensity,” he said.
The Salt Hawks were led by Royd who had a career-high 15 points and also dished out six assists, while Higgins finished with 14 points thanks to his four three-pointers. They finished at 41.5 percent from the field, while the one area that hurt the Indians was their free throw shooting, going 3-for-14 from the line.
Now Hutchinson will take on the Aces tonight, while the Indians will play the 2 p.m. game against Ulysses.
