On Monday night, Manual’s freshman boys’ basketball team took on the Butler Bears. The game was an intense back and forth matchup, with Butler in the lead the majority of the game. However, the Crimsons managed to make a comeback, winning with a final score of 32-30.
First Half:
Manual got the ball first and scored within seconds. The ball was then brought back to Butler’s side where two points were scored. However, Dario Harper (#1, 9) brought the ball back to Butler’s basket and although multiple attempts were made, both him and Rhett Stearman (#3, 9) weren’t able to score.
After some back and forth between the teams, Harper passed the ball to Jalen Outten (#25, 9) whose shot was blocked. A timeout was then called by Manual with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
With 3:34 left in the quarter, Butler scored once more. Although Butler had the ball, during a pass, Manual stole the ball. A foul was then called on Butler.
With 2:10 left, Butler scored once more, leaving the score 7-4, with an early lead for the Bears.
A foul committed by Manual then allowed Butler to shoot a free throw and shortly after, Butler scored again. Outten brought the ball back to Manual’s side, but his shot did not go in.
Butler tried to score again, but Damauri Crosby (#23, 9) blocked their shot, taking the ball and bringing it back. The ball was stolen back before he was able to shoot. However, Butler didn’t get a chance to shoot either. Jesiah Flippins (#20, 9) stole the ball, and then was fouled by a Butler player, and made his way to the free-throw line.
The first quarter ended 13-6 in favor of the Bears.
The second quarter started out well for the Bears, but not so well for the Crimsons. Butler scored the first points bringing the score to 16-6. Manual then attempted multiple shots, but were blocked by the Bears. A timeout was called with 3:27 left in the second quarter.
Harper tried to dribble the ball back down the court, but was squished between two Butler players and ultimately lost the ball.
Shortly after, the ball was brought back towards Butler’s basket, where Harper made an attempt to score, but missed. The ball was rebounded, though, caught by Corey Chatman (#32, 9) who then missed the shot.The ball was rebound once more, this time by Crosby who passed to Harper. Ultimately, though, Harper missed and the ball went out of bounds.
Shortly after, a foul was called on Butler and Outten got a free throw the score was now 16-8, for the Bears. Manual then substituted some players onto the court from the bench.
At the very last second, Flippins shot and made a three-pointer. The first half ended 16-11, with Butler in the lead.
“They start putting their heads down and second guessing themselves. So the main thing was just keep playing with confidence” head Coach Evan Reed said.
Second Half:
Both teams scored points within the first minute of the game. The score quickly changed to 21-13, still in favor of Butler.
After a passing sequence between Manual players, Harper scored. The Crimsons were now catching up to the Bears after gaining some momentum following halftime.
After catching the rebound of an attempted shot by Butler, Manual brought the ball back towards Butler’ basket, but a timeout was called before the Crimsons got a chance to score.
Shortly after, a foul was called on Butler and Crosby made the free throw, leaving the scoreboard 21-17. Chatman then tried to score, but Butler blocked his shot.
With 2:26 left in the third quarter, Outten scored two points, but Butler was determined to keep their lead and they scored a three-pointer, making the score 24-19.
Then a sequence of rebounds occurred for Manual. However, all attempts to score following the rebounds failed. Harper tried to score, but Butler managed to block the ball and take it back to Manual’s basket, where they scored again.
As a result, the third quarter ended 26-19, with the Bears still in the lead.
Butler got the ball at the start of the final quarter however Manual stole the ball, making its way back to Harper. He attempted to pass the ball, but it was stolen by Butler, who raced back down the court and attempted a shot. The ball missed the hoop, however.
A timeout was then called with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter. After a sequence of passing between the Crimsons’ offense, Harper was able to score.
After this, a lot of back and forth running up and down the court between the two schools occurred. Ultimately, Flippins got a hold of the ball and scored, bringing the core 28-25. Soon after, Flippins got the ball once more, but seeing that he couldn’t shoot, he passed the ball to Harper, who ultimately scored. The scoreboard then read 28-27 with 2:03 left.
Another timeout was then called with 1:55 left. Manual got the ball and Stearman passed to Outten who passed to Flippins, to Harper, back to Stearman and finally back to Outten who scored. Manual was finally in the lead by one point, 29-28.
A foul was then called on Butler, and Outten made a free throw and the score was 30-28 with 1:24 left in the game. However, Butler tried to maintain their dominance. Fortunately for Manual though, an attempted shot by Butler was blocked by Outten, who was determined to keep the Crimsons in the lead.
A Butler player got hurt shortly after and due to the severity of his injury, he was taken out of the game. During this time, Coach Reed took the opportunity to talk to his team.
Shortly after, Butler scored and the two schools were now tied, 30-30, with 50 seconds left in the game.
Manual gained possession, and the ball was then passed between the Crimsons. Flippins got a hold of the ball and made an attempt to get Manual in the lead again, however he missed. Luckily, the Crimson kept a hold on the ball following Flippins’ miss, and passed the ball from Flippins to Crosby whose shot was blocked. Manual was not giving up, though, as Stearman got the rebound.
Butler then called a last-second timeout. In the final seconds of the game, the Crimsons had the ball and passed between each other. When the ball got to Outten he was able to score with one second remaining. Time ran out right after, resulting in a Manual, with a final score of 32-30.
“I feel like I turned it up a lot more. Had a few clutch shots, played some good defense. Just turn[ed] it up overall” Outten said.
Manual’s freshman team’s last regular season game will be on Thursday, Feb. 20, against the Male Bulldogs. “I feel like it’s been a great season. I feel like I’ve learned a lot and I’ve gotten better” Harper said.
