Manual thoroughly controlled both ends of the floor in their first round of the District Tournament against the Shawnee Golden Eagles. Manual allowed only 16 points all game on the defensive end, and they could simply not be stopped on the offensive side.  Everything went Manual’s way and nothing Shawnee did could stop them. Final score: 69-16 Manual.

“On offense we read the defense well tonight,” Sydney MacBlane (#22, 11) said. “We were able to use our height to our advantage and crash the boards all game, which tired the defense out.”

Manual had a huge height advantage over the shorter Shawnee players, which allowed for several blocked shots and forced turnovers.

“We played really well,” head coach Jeffrey Sparks said. “I thought we did a good job passing the ball and using our height in transition. It’s good that we won here so now we can look forward to the district final on Wednesday and the rest of the tournament.”

Manual had a 48-point lead and initiated the running clock by the start of the third quarter.

“We played hard on defense and we stayed focused all night,” Sparks said, “We’re looking forward to the rest of the post-season and the challenges that lay ahead.”

Manual also fought hard for rebounds in tonight’s game, which allowed for easy fast-break scores.

“We did very good on rebounds, which allowed us to move the ball in transition,” Sparks said. “Our size was a big advantage in tonight’s game, but we’ll see some teams with better size and we’ll have to do a better job of blocking out in order to win.”

Manual will face the winner of the Central vs. Presentation game Wednesday night in the district final at Presentation at 6:00 p.m.

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