Manchester Academy’s Mavericks and Lady Mavericks were able to secure third place finishes in the north state tournament over the weekend.
After dropping a tight contest with Marshall in the second round of the north state tournament, the Lady Mavs rebounded with a win over Greenville Christian.
Against Marshall, one of the top seeds in the tournament, a battle of wills waged on. For every score that Manchester had, Marshall matched it, and when Marshall made a layup, Manchester was right behind them with one of their own. At the half, it was a 14-14 game. Manchester Academy head coach Emily Poe believes that both teams were evenly matched and had nearly identical plans.
“It was back and forth all game long,” Poe said. “When we came out of the half, it was the same thing. We each have a strong post presence, and the plan for both teams was to slow each other down low. We were both successful in doing that.”
With 3:00 remaining in the contest, the Lady Mavs were dealt a fatal blow; Lanie Potter, their biggest presence in the post, fouled out of the game. Still, the Lady Mavs had opportunities to take the game.
“We had opportunities to win the game, but we missed some free throws and layups,” Poe said. “I think we had some issues with nerves.” They were ultimately unsuccessful and fell 36-34.
Gracie Jones and Lanie Potter led the way in scoring for the Lady Mavs with 12 points each. Macy Huggins chipped in eight points in the losing effort.
Anna Kate Griffin scored the other two points in the loss. It was the type of game that had the potential to stay with the players.
“We were all a little disappointed,” Poe said. “We could have won the game without a few minor mistakes. There was a lot of self-reflection in the locker room.”
But the Lady Mavs had no time to sit in their sorrow. They had a game against Greenville Christian, a team that had beaten them in all three meetings this year, soon after. This meeting, however, had a different feeling about it. According to Poe, her team had enough of losing to Greenville Christian, and they were going to do whatever it took to ensure it didn’t happen again.
“They were determined not to lose to Greenville Christian again,” Poe said. “They weren’t going to let it happen.”
When one of the Lady Saints’ key players found herself in foul trouble, it opened the door for Manchester.
Then, in the fourth quarter, senior Macy Huggins went on an incredible run. She scored all 16 of her points in the fourth quarter to propel her team to a 43-39 victory. Macy Huggins scored all 16 of her points in the fourth quarter.
Ivy Sowell and Lanie Potter were each able to produce 11 points in the victory. Manchester’s Mavericks fell to the high-powered St. Joe Fighting Irish before defeating Tri-County Academy for the fourth time this season to salvage third place.
Against St. Joe, a team that swept the Mavericks in the regular season, the Mavericks struggled. At the half, St. Joe had taken a 30-13 lead. Sensing that the game was getting away from his team, Manchester head coach Jacob Iles had to shift his team’s plan.
“We got in a big hole early,” Iles said. “We struggled to score. They increased their defensive pressure. They got some steals and easy layups. We decided to go up-tempo against them, and that’s not something we went in wanting to do.”
For a while, the plan seemed to be working. Manchester cut the lead to 48-40, but they couldn’t keep it up. “Our guys kind of ran out of gas,” Iles said. “That’s what happens when you play that style against a team like that. They went on a big run.”
Down in the fourth quarter and the next round looming, Iles had to make a difficult decision for the betterment of the team. He conceded. “I had to make a difficult decision in the fourth quarter,” Iles said. “You want to win every game and do whatever it takes to win the game, but you also have to think about the big picture. They were just too good that night. We needed to win the next game if we lost to St. Joe. We had to if we wanted to do anything at the state tournament. I waved the white flag in the fourth quarter and rested some guys for the consolation game.”
Manchester fell 69-44.
Dylan Dendy led the Mavs with 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Parks Poe had nine points and seven assists. Will Peeler rounded out the top three with eight points. The Mavericks needed every bit of that rest in a slugfest against rival Tri-County Academy, a team they had beaten in their first three meetings of the year. According to Iles, it is difficult to get his team up for a team up for a team they have beaten so much this season.
“I’m running out of pregame speeches for Tri-County,” Iles said. “It’s the same old song and dance, and it starts to fall on deaf ears. It is incredibly difficult to beat a team four times in one season. We came out expecting to win and flat, and that’s a bad combination.”
After TCA went up 5-0 early in the game, Manchester stormed back seven points of their own to take a 7-5 lead into the second quarter. The Mavs cruised through the second quarter 13-7 to extend their lead to 20-12. TCA got hot in the third quarter and put up 21 points to Manchester’s 12, giving them a 33-32 lead. The Rebels held a lead for much of the fourth quarter, but the Mavs made just enough plays to make the score 44-44 at the end of regulation. Manchester went up in overtime and never looked back. They took the game 54-52.
Parks Poe had the game of his life when his team needed it most, scoring 35 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Dylan Dendy put up 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the victory. Iles was proud of the resiliency of his team after the game.
“Our guys found a way to win, and now we’re one of the final eight teams remaining,” Iles said. “We can’t get lucky and get a win from here on out. Everyone left in it deserves to be there.”
