Manual shuts out Winnebago in
overtime to reach 2A Final Four
overtime to reach 2A Final Four
Indians' Perfect Season Ends with a 63-52 Loss to Rams ...
By Steve Nemeth
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
DeKALB - Despite a thrilling comeback for a fourth-quarter lead, Winnebago wasn’t able
to keep Peoria Manual from forcing overtime. The Rams then ran away with a 63-52
victory in Tuesday’s Class 2A Supersectional contest at Northern Illinois University’s
Convocation Center.
The previously unbeaten Indians struggled out of the gate as Manual’s Marvin Jordan
accounted for half of the Rams’ points in establishing a 16-9 advantage after one quarter.
That gap remained at intermission as both teams notched 16 in the second quarter.
Winnebago managed to trim the deficit by just two, 40-35, at the end of three quarters,
but the Indians’ surge continued and resulted in a 42-40 lead.
Marcus Posley accounted for 10 of his 20-point performance during the fourth-quarter but
his hustle took a toll on him as he battled severe muscle cramps. The Indians owned a 52-
49 lead and coach Joe Murphy admitted the game plan called for forcing the Rams toward
the basket and fouling them in order to put them on the charity stripe.
“We really wanted to foul him, but Marcus just wasn’t able to move his feet due to the
cramps,” Murphy said.
Instead, Manual’s Lawrence Alexander raced past Posley and nailed a 3-pointer from left
of the top of the key. Worse yet for Winnebago, an attempted floor-length pass with 2.9
seconds hit the underside of scoreboard giving the Rams a chance to inbound the ball for
a final shot.
Manual not only got the opening bucket of the overtime session, but also capitalized on a
combination of Winnebago misses and turnovers in building an advantage that
snowballed into an 11-0 overtime session.
“Getting the first basket turned out to be very important in this case, especially when we
didn’t answer. That really was the big thing,” Murphy conceded. “If you can score first in
overtime, the kids settle down and get some confidence. Unfortunately that didn’t happen
for us.”
Indeed it didn’t as Manual boosted its record to 23-7 on the year and advances to Friday’
s 6:30 p.m. State semifinal in Peoria where the Rams meet Breese Central, a 53-42 victor
over Murphysboro in the Frankfort Supersectional.
“We knew in the fourth quarter they’d make a run at us and they certainly did, but I’m
really proud of my guys, they kept their composure,” Manual coach Derrick Booth said.
“To get to overtime, we got what was called ‘the best shot in Manual history’ from
Alexander. We run that in practice and he’s always knocking them down.”
For his part, the Ball State University recruit had no qualms about being called upon to
force the overtime session with a trey.
“I came off the screen and took a couple of dribbles to line it up and once I released it, I
knew it was going in,” Alexander insisted.
Although fans reacted on each of Winnebago’s 12 blocked shots, the Rams weren’t fazed
and chalked up their share of impressive numbers on defense. Manual forced 23
turnovers and owned a 12-1 advantage in steals. The Rams’ 42-35 edge in rebounding
was more notable in the form of 23 defensive boards to Winnebago’s four offensive
snares. Manual grabbed 19 offensive boards compared to the 31 WHS defensive
rebounds.
“They’re a well-coached team and even though their big guy and his teammates kept
rejecting shots, we kept attacking because that’s what we do,” Booth added. “We also
know we’re going to win games with our defense. We certainly got some steals that led to
easy baskets and those always make a difference.”
Alexander’s game-high 23 points was backed up by Marvin Jordan’s 20 with Brandon
Watson next in line with seven points and a team-best nine rebounds for Manual.
On the Winnebago side of the ledger, Posley and 6-8 big man Chas Cross both tallied 20
with Cross chalking up a double-double with 15 boards while making five of the Indians’
dozen blocks. Starters Mike Mann (5), A.J. Thomas (4), and Brad Reinke (3) accounted
for the rest of the Winnebago scoring as the Manual bench outscored their counterparts
9-0.
“It’s been a wild last two years, posting back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. We made
long runs in both post-seasons but not as long a run as we would have liked this year,”
Cross added in reference to the Indians’ final 31-1 record.
Steve Nemeth is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
DeKALB - Despite a thrilling comeback for a fourth-quarter lead, Winnebago wasn’t able
to keep Peoria Manual from forcing overtime. The Rams then ran away with a 63-52
victory in Tuesday’s Class 2A Supersectional contest at Northern Illinois University’s
Convocation Center.
The previously unbeaten Indians struggled out of the gate as Manual’s Marvin Jordan
accounted for half of the Rams’ points in establishing a 16-9 advantage after one quarter.
That gap remained at intermission as both teams notched 16 in the second quarter.
Winnebago managed to trim the deficit by just two, 40-35, at the end of three quarters,
but the Indians’ surge continued and resulted in a 42-40 lead.
Marcus Posley accounted for 10 of his 20-point performance during the fourth-quarter but
his hustle took a toll on him as he battled severe muscle cramps. The Indians owned a 52-
49 lead and coach Joe Murphy admitted the game plan called for forcing the Rams toward
the basket and fouling them in order to put them on the charity stripe.
“We really wanted to foul him, but Marcus just wasn’t able to move his feet due to the
cramps,” Murphy said.
Instead, Manual’s Lawrence Alexander raced past Posley and nailed a 3-pointer from left
of the top of the key. Worse yet for Winnebago, an attempted floor-length pass with 2.9
seconds hit the underside of scoreboard giving the Rams a chance to inbound the ball for
a final shot.
Manual not only got the opening bucket of the overtime session, but also capitalized on a
combination of Winnebago misses and turnovers in building an advantage that
snowballed into an 11-0 overtime session.
“Getting the first basket turned out to be very important in this case, especially when we
didn’t answer. That really was the big thing,” Murphy conceded. “If you can score first in
overtime, the kids settle down and get some confidence. Unfortunately that didn’t happen
for us.”
Indeed it didn’t as Manual boosted its record to 23-7 on the year and advances to Friday’
s 6:30 p.m. State semifinal in Peoria where the Rams meet Breese Central, a 53-42 victor
over Murphysboro in the Frankfort Supersectional.
“We knew in the fourth quarter they’d make a run at us and they certainly did, but I’m
really proud of my guys, they kept their composure,” Manual coach Derrick Booth said.
“To get to overtime, we got what was called ‘the best shot in Manual history’ from
Alexander. We run that in practice and he’s always knocking them down.”
For his part, the Ball State University recruit had no qualms about being called upon to
force the overtime session with a trey.
“I came off the screen and took a couple of dribbles to line it up and once I released it, I
knew it was going in,” Alexander insisted.
Although fans reacted on each of Winnebago’s 12 blocked shots, the Rams weren’t fazed
and chalked up their share of impressive numbers on defense. Manual forced 23
turnovers and owned a 12-1 advantage in steals. The Rams’ 42-35 edge in rebounding
was more notable in the form of 23 defensive boards to Winnebago’s four offensive
snares. Manual grabbed 19 offensive boards compared to the 31 WHS defensive
rebounds.
“They’re a well-coached team and even though their big guy and his teammates kept
rejecting shots, we kept attacking because that’s what we do,” Booth added. “We also
know we’re going to win games with our defense. We certainly got some steals that led to
easy baskets and those always make a difference.”
Alexander’s game-high 23 points was backed up by Marvin Jordan’s 20 with Brandon
Watson next in line with seven points and a team-best nine rebounds for Manual.
On the Winnebago side of the ledger, Posley and 6-8 big man Chas Cross both tallied 20
with Cross chalking up a double-double with 15 boards while making five of the Indians’
dozen blocks. Starters Mike Mann (5), A.J. Thomas (4), and Brad Reinke (3) accounted
for the rest of the Winnebago scoring as the Manual bench outscored their counterparts
9-0.
“It’s been a wild last two years, posting back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. We made
long runs in both post-seasons but not as long a run as we would have liked this year,”
Cross added in reference to the Indians’ final 31-1 record.
Steve Nemeth is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
At NIU Convocation Center
Class 2A Supersectional
Peoria Manual 63
Winnebago 52 OT
Manual (63) - M. Jordan 6-15
7-9 20, Stokes 1-7 0-0 2,
Alexander 5-27 12-13 23,
Roddy 1-2 0-1 2, Watson 3-5
1-2 7, Farmer 1-2 1-2 3,
Stuckey 1-2 1-1 3, A. Jordan
0-4 3-4 3. Totals: 18-64
25-32 63.
Winnebago (52) - Mann 1-5
2-2 5, Posley 6-16 8-9 20,
Reinke 1-2 1-2 3, Cross 9-12
2-5 20, Thomas 2-7 0-0 4,
Clinite 0-0 0-0 0, Sartorius
0-0 0-0 0, Gustafson 0-1 0-0
0, Bronkema 0-0 0-0 0,
Lindgren 0-0 0-0 0, Draves
0-0 0-0 0, DeMars 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 19-43 13-18 52
Manual - 16 16 8 12 11 - 63
'Bago - 9 16 10 17 0 - 52
3-Point Goals --- Peoria
Manual (2-6): M. Jordan 1-2,
Alexander 1-4. Winnebago
(1-4): Mann 1-2, Reinke 0-1,
Gustafson 0-1. Rebounds:
Peoria Manual (42) Watson 9,
Winnebago (35): Cross 15.
Assists: Peoria Manual (2):
M. Jordan 2, Winnebago (9):
Posley 3, Gustafson 3.
Fouled out: Winnebago:
Reinke, Thomas, Gustafson.
Total Fouls: Peoria Manual:
16, Winnebago: 26.
Class 2A Supersectional
Peoria Manual 63
Winnebago 52 OT
Manual (63) - M. Jordan 6-15
7-9 20, Stokes 1-7 0-0 2,
Alexander 5-27 12-13 23,
Roddy 1-2 0-1 2, Watson 3-5
1-2 7, Farmer 1-2 1-2 3,
Stuckey 1-2 1-1 3, A. Jordan
0-4 3-4 3. Totals: 18-64
25-32 63.
Winnebago (52) - Mann 1-5
2-2 5, Posley 6-16 8-9 20,
Reinke 1-2 1-2 3, Cross 9-12
2-5 20, Thomas 2-7 0-0 4,
Clinite 0-0 0-0 0, Sartorius
0-0 0-0 0, Gustafson 0-1 0-0
0, Bronkema 0-0 0-0 0,
Lindgren 0-0 0-0 0, Draves
0-0 0-0 0, DeMars 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 19-43 13-18 52
Manual - 16 16 8 12 11 - 63
'Bago - 9 16 10 17 0 - 52
3-Point Goals --- Peoria
Manual (2-6): M. Jordan 1-2,
Alexander 1-4. Winnebago
(1-4): Mann 1-2, Reinke 0-1,
Gustafson 0-1. Rebounds:
Peoria Manual (42) Watson 9,
Winnebago (35): Cross 15.
Assists: Peoria Manual (2):
M. Jordan 2, Winnebago (9):
Posley 3, Gustafson 3.
Fouled out: Winnebago:
Reinke, Thomas, Gustafson.
Total Fouls: Peoria Manual:
16, Winnebago: 26.
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