Manual pulls out a win against St. Xavier in epic ending
Manual’s cheerleaders cheer on the team. Photo by Katie Dikes
December 9, 2022
The boys’ varsity basketball team defeated St. Xavier 59-58 last night in an astonishing loss for the Tigers.
A moment of silence was held before tip-off for 17-year-old Manual senior Adrianna Stanton (12, HSU), whom the Manual community lost this past weekend.
First Half:
St. X made the first points of the the game, but the Crimsons quickly rebounded with the first successful shot made by Malachi Coleman (#3, 10).
Though Manual’s defense was holding their own, St. X was quick to pull out a 10-point lead against the Crimsons. The ball was passed back and forth until a timeout was called at the end of the first quarter.
The Crimsons came out of that timeout with a new spirit and towards the end of the first quarter they were able to catch up with St. X. However, the Tigers remained strong and the score at the end of the first quarter was 19-12 with St. X in the lead.
In the second quarter, it was all about St. X. The Crimson defense struggled and St. X was able to use that to their advantage, pulling ahead by a 17-point lead at the half. The score at this point was 39-22.
Second Half:
Though down by 17 points coming out of the half, the Crimsons defense remained strong while the Tigers seemed to fall short. Hustling on the court, stealing the ball, blocking shots and dropped basketballs by St. X helped the Crimsons gain momentum.
Damone King (#21, 11) was also a key driving factor for the Crimsons. Cheering on his teammates from the bench, encouraging the hustle and remaining a strong leader on the court helped the Crimsons inch closer to St. X.
By the end of the third quarter, St. X’s lead had fallen to only 7 points. The score was 44-37.
A 3-pointer by Malachi Coleman (#3, 10), put the Crimsons only behind by one point with only about a minute left to go. However, St. X was quick to rebound and pulled ahead by a few points. A few plays later, with 15 seconds to go, another 3-pointer by Joshua Darst (#13, 11) again put the Crimsons behind by one. Score was now 58-57, St. X in the lead.
St. X had possession of the ball with a few seconds to go, but a foul by the Tigers on Damone King (#21, 11) gave the ball back to Manual. King made both free throws, putting Manual ahead by 1 point with only 3.2 seconds to go.
The final score was 59-58.
The Crimsons’ next game is against the Shawnee Golden Eagles tonight at 5:45 pm.
