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Squires’ big man’s 31 points, 11 boards offset Bowers’ 11, Reinartz’s 10
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
NORTH MANCHESTER — Gavin Betten scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Tyler McLain and Ethan Hendrix added 14 points each to lead the Manchester boys basketball team to a 71-49 win over visiting Rochester Friday at The Jungle.
Gavin Martin added eight points for Manchester, including a 3-pointer right before the first half buzzer that gave Manchester a 45-32 lead. Manchester improved to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Brock Bowers scored 11 points, all in a span of less than three minutes in the second quarter, to lead Rochester, who fell to 7-5, 2-2. Tanner Reinartz added 10, including a steal and a highlight reel, behind-the-back dribble and coast to coast finish while being fouled with 1:28 left in the half. At the time, it cut what had been a 21-point deficit down to 34-25, but Betten answered with a driving banker for a 3-point play, and McLain scored in transition to get the lead back to 39-25, and the lead stayed in double digits for the remainder.
Manchester led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Manchester hit 11 3-pointers, including five in the first quarter. McLain and Hendrix each hit two treys, and Martin also hit from deep as Manchester gained an 18-6 advantage.
“It was kind of a frenzied game, the first six minutes,” Rochester coach Rob Malchow said.
From there, Betten, Manchester’s 6-6 center, scored off the left block, even through double teams. Asked what kind of offense Manchester runs, Malchow called it “11,” referring to Betten by uniform number.
“He’s a good player,” Malchow added. “There’s no question. There were times when we played him well, and there were times when he goes left, he has a good touch, he really uses the glass well. He’s able to keep his balance and finish shots.”
Bowers went on a personal 11-0 run, cutting a 30-9 deficit to 30-20. He hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions and then knocked down two free throws with 3:49 left in the half.
Betten scored on a cut from the top of the key and banked in an eight-footer and hit two free throws before Aidan Smith found Paul Leasure for 3 to make it 34-23.
Then Reinartz picked McLain’s pocket, dribbled behind his back and hit a hanging layup on the break as Betten fouled him.
But he missed the free throw that followed, and Manchester answered back.
In the second half, Rochester struggled to execute on offense. Manchester went to a 2-3 zone with Hendrix and McLain on top trapping Rochester’s ballhandlers. Having a rim protector like Betten allowed them to take chances on defense, and Manchester forced 15 turnovers.
“You saw when we were in our press tonight how many mid-rangers they had to pull up for and shoot over an outstretched 6-6 arm,” Manchester coach Eli Henson said. “That makes a big difference because it’s not like he’s just 6-6 and a statue in there. He moves. He can move, and then once they shoot that shot, he does a great job of going and getting the rebound. That allows Ethan and Tyler to just get after it, and they know that.”
Betten also outscored the entire Rochester team 8-7 in the third quarter.
Afterwards, Malchow called both Rochester’s field goal percentage and their free throw percentage “lousy” and said improving the team’s confidence on offense is crucial going into next weekend’s games against Northfield on the road and North White at home.
“We’ve got to shoot the ball better,” Malchow said. “Last weekend against (Tippecanoe) Valley, same thing where we had some looks. And the thing is, it’s the looks that are point blank that we’ve got to knock down. There were six points that we left on the floor from two feet away, and those got to be 100 percent. You can’t miss any of those if you’re going to beat the good teams or compete with the good teams. And Manchester’s a good team.”
Manchester also won the JV game 50-48. Davis Renie led Rochester with 12 points, Hunter Honkomp had eight, Jonas Kiser had seven, Owen Prater had six, Drew Bowers had five, Carson Paulik and Xavier Vance had four each, and Grant Clark had two.
Manchester 71, Rochester 49
ROCHESTER (49) (7-5, 2-2)
Paul Leasure 3 1-1 8, Aidan Smith 2 0-0 4, Brock Bowers 3 2-2 11, Tanner Reinartz 4 0-1 10, Luke Hunting 2 1-2 5, Drew Bowers 0 0-0 0, Ethan Medina 0 0-0 0, Luke Malchow 0 0-0 0, Owen Prater 2 0-0 4, Bryce Baugher 0 3-8 3, Xavier Vance 2 0-1 4
TEAM: 18 7-15 49
MANCHESTER (71) (12-2, 4-0)
Tyler McLain 5 0-0 14, Ethan Hendrix 5 0-0 14, Gavin Martin 3 0-0 8, Carter Wagoner 0 0-0 0, Gavin Betten 13 5-7 31, Trevor Heath 0 1-2 1, Wyatt Prater 0 0-0 0, Reiss Gaerte 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Kline 0 0-0 0, Tallon Torpy 1 0-0 3, Aaron Reid 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 27 6-9 71
Three-point field goals:
Rochester 6 (B. Bowers 3, Reinartz 2, Leasure),
Manchester 11 (McLain 4, Hendrix 4, Martin 2, Torpy)
Total fouls: Rochester 12, Manchester 12
Turnovers: Rochester 15, Manchester 9
Score by quarters
Rochester 9 23 7 10 – 49
Manchester 26 19 12 14 – 71
JV: Manchester 50, Rochester 48
