The Manchester Academy Mavericks came out with a nail-biting win of 59-56 over Greenville St. Joe on Thursday, Jan. 24.
Coach Jacob Iles said that the Mavericks started out the game with a lot of intensity and focus, but had to quickly change their strategy to contain one of St. Joe's players, who scored around 37 points for the Irish.
"This game was a total team effort," Coach Iles said. "Everyone contributed and held to the game plan. We are finally starting to understand our roles and who we are as a team."
Parks Poe led the way on offense by scoring 21 points in the game and getting six rebounds.
Jon Riley Poe had 11 points and six rebounds as well.
Dylan Dendy scored nine points, Upton Hitt scored seven points, and Hayes Bardwell had six, with each of the three boys holding eight rebounds a piece on defense. Ty Kilpatrick scored three points and held 3 rebounds, while Will Peeler had two rebounds. Tyler Bardwell also added two points to the board and had one rebound on defense.
"This game meant a lot to this team," Coach Iles said. "We had never beaten St. Joe before and securing this win meant that we locked up the number one seed in the tournament."
The Mavericks finished out their district schedule this week against Tri-County on Monday, and will celebrate Senior Night on Friday, Feb. 1 by hosting a game against Indianola.
