Wildcats unable to handle Greyhounds; fall in district finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
ATHENS — The Whiteoak Wildcats were able to put together a rally, but not able to put together enough points to overcome a big run by the Manchester Greyhounds, Saturday in the Division IV SE District Finals. WHS came close at times to catching the Greyhounds but just couldn't get over the hump, falling to their Southern Hills League counterpart 63-48 at the Convocation Center, on the campus of Ohio University.
This was the third meeting this season between the two teams, with the Greyhounds now winning two of the three games this season. The district title is the second straight title for the Greyhounds, who won the title last season.
WHS (11-12) got within eight points of the Greyhounds' lead in the third quarter, and again in the fourth frame, but never passed that as Manchester rallied with points each time the Wildcats would make a run.
In their first two meetings this season, the Greyhounds won first at 75-61 and WHS won the second meeting 57-43, both 14-point wins. For Saturday's game, the Greyhounds won by 15 points.
This is the first time the Wildcats have been district runners-up since 2006. This is the sixth time in school history they have been the district runner-up. WHS last won a district title in 2003.
In the district final Saturday, Manchester (18-5) was led in scoring by junior Travis Combs with 26 points, the game-high. MHS junior Dalton West tallied 13 points, and senior Blake Blevins scored nine points for the Greyhounds.
For the Wildcats, they were led by senior Joe Michael with 18 points. WHS senior Mike Carraher scored 11, and sophomore Gage Carraher finished with eight points. Fellow sophomore Doc Seip tallied six points. Also scoring for the Wildcats were Luke Taggert with three points and Logan Morris with two.
At the start of the game, it was Mike Carraher who scored first, but after that, it was Combs who took over, scoring eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, for a Manchester lead of 8-2 with 6:05 left in the opening quarter.
"We just came out slow," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We can't go down 15 points in the first half, then play even with them in the second half and expect to win."
Michael broke the 8-0 run by Combs with two points, but West nailed the Greyhounds' third 3-pointer for an 11-4 advantage. Later in the first, Blevins sank a 3-ball with 52 seconds remaining, lifting the Greyhounds' lead to 16-8. Gage Carraher ended the first with a 3-pointer from the corner, bringing the Wildcats within six points of tying the game at 17-11.
Both teams combined for five 3-pointers in the first frame and 10 overall.
The second began like the first ended … with a Whiteoak 3-pointer, this time from Mike Carraher, draining a long-range trifecta with 6:39 left on the clock. Manchester answered with a 3-pointer of their own when Kyle Adams nailed a shot from beyond the arc. At the 5:03 mark, the Greyhounds led 25-14 after another 3-pointer by West.
In the second frame, the Greyhounds went on a 10-0 run to take a 27-14 lead. The run was snapped by a three-point play by Gage Carraher. MHS came back with another 3-pointer from Combs, increasing the lead to 15 points.
Taggert scored on a three-point play with 1:38 left in the first half.
In the third, the Wildcats outscored the Greyhounds 12-11 but never could mount the comeback needed to take the lead.
MHS led 42-24 in the early stages of the quarter, but Michael came back with three points. After points by the Greyhounds, WHS had one of their better stretches with eight straight points, cutting the Greyhounds' lead to eight points at 44-36. Scoring in the run were Mike Carraher, Seip and Michael, who had a three-point play that got the WHS faithful on their feet as the senior fought his way through the Manchester double team.
"We went into a half-court trap, trying the ball handlers, rotating in the back. I thought we could do it a few possessions and get a few steals, and that's what happened," Wessner said. "I don't think we could do that to them all the time, they fastbreak too well to do that an entire 32 minutes."
The momentum didn't last long for WHS as the Greyhounds scored five points in the final 14 seconds of the quarter with a 3-pointer and a put-back basket at the buzzer by West to regain a 13-point lead.
The best moments for the Wildcats in the final eight minutes came when they put together a 8-2 run, coming within nine points again, this time at 55-46 with 3:19 left in the game. Contributing to the run were Logan Morris, Mike Carraher and Michael, who had another three-point play.
Manchester answered with five straight points, sealing the win.
"Our energy tonight wasn't very good. We got that spark there to eight or nine, and I was hoping we could push through, but that was as close as it got," Wessner said. "We made a push … made our run, but too little, too late."
The game was the final game for four WHS seniors, including: Joe Michael, Logan Morris, Mark Crowe and Mike Carraher.
"I'm very proud of our seniors. Joe, Mikey, Logan and Mark, they stuck with it. All are four-year guys. I'm very proud of them and how our juniors and sophomore have done. Hopefully we can build on this for the future."
The Wildcats end the season at 11-12 overall, sectional champions and district runners-up. WHS defeated the Green Bobcats and South Gallia Rebels this postseason.
Manchester improves to 18-5 overall and will face the South Webster Jeeps in the regional semifinals on Tuesday at the Convo.
GAME NOTES: Manchester made eight 3-pointers … WHS had 19 fouls (14 in the second half) … WHS scored in double figures all four quarters … WHS have six district runner-up trophies ('11, '06, '05, '98, '87, '66) … WHS three district titles came in '03, '02 and '00 … MHS has four district titles … MHS had 17 fouls … MHS was 13-of-23 from the free-throw line … WHS was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line.[[In-content Ad]]
This was the third meeting this season between the two teams, with the Greyhounds now winning two of the three games this season. The district title is the second straight title for the Greyhounds, who won the title last season.
WHS (11-12) got within eight points of the Greyhounds' lead in the third quarter, and again in the fourth frame, but never passed that as Manchester rallied with points each time the Wildcats would make a run.
In their first two meetings this season, the Greyhounds won first at 75-61 and WHS won the second meeting 57-43, both 14-point wins. For Saturday's game, the Greyhounds won by 15 points.
This is the first time the Wildcats have been district runners-up since 2006. This is the sixth time in school history they have been the district runner-up. WHS last won a district title in 2003.
In the district final Saturday, Manchester (18-5) was led in scoring by junior Travis Combs with 26 points, the game-high. MHS junior Dalton West tallied 13 points, and senior Blake Blevins scored nine points for the Greyhounds.
For the Wildcats, they were led by senior Joe Michael with 18 points. WHS senior Mike Carraher scored 11, and sophomore Gage Carraher finished with eight points. Fellow sophomore Doc Seip tallied six points. Also scoring for the Wildcats were Luke Taggert with three points and Logan Morris with two.
At the start of the game, it was Mike Carraher who scored first, but after that, it was Combs who took over, scoring eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, for a Manchester lead of 8-2 with 6:05 left in the opening quarter.
"We just came out slow," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We can't go down 15 points in the first half, then play even with them in the second half and expect to win."
Michael broke the 8-0 run by Combs with two points, but West nailed the Greyhounds' third 3-pointer for an 11-4 advantage. Later in the first, Blevins sank a 3-ball with 52 seconds remaining, lifting the Greyhounds' lead to 16-8. Gage Carraher ended the first with a 3-pointer from the corner, bringing the Wildcats within six points of tying the game at 17-11.
Both teams combined for five 3-pointers in the first frame and 10 overall.
The second began like the first ended … with a Whiteoak 3-pointer, this time from Mike Carraher, draining a long-range trifecta with 6:39 left on the clock. Manchester answered with a 3-pointer of their own when Kyle Adams nailed a shot from beyond the arc. At the 5:03 mark, the Greyhounds led 25-14 after another 3-pointer by West.
In the second frame, the Greyhounds went on a 10-0 run to take a 27-14 lead. The run was snapped by a three-point play by Gage Carraher. MHS came back with another 3-pointer from Combs, increasing the lead to 15 points.
Taggert scored on a three-point play with 1:38 left in the first half.
In the third, the Wildcats outscored the Greyhounds 12-11 but never could mount the comeback needed to take the lead.
MHS led 42-24 in the early stages of the quarter, but Michael came back with three points. After points by the Greyhounds, WHS had one of their better stretches with eight straight points, cutting the Greyhounds' lead to eight points at 44-36. Scoring in the run were Mike Carraher, Seip and Michael, who had a three-point play that got the WHS faithful on their feet as the senior fought his way through the Manchester double team.
"We went into a half-court trap, trying the ball handlers, rotating in the back. I thought we could do it a few possessions and get a few steals, and that's what happened," Wessner said. "I don't think we could do that to them all the time, they fastbreak too well to do that an entire 32 minutes."
The momentum didn't last long for WHS as the Greyhounds scored five points in the final 14 seconds of the quarter with a 3-pointer and a put-back basket at the buzzer by West to regain a 13-point lead.
The best moments for the Wildcats in the final eight minutes came when they put together a 8-2 run, coming within nine points again, this time at 55-46 with 3:19 left in the game. Contributing to the run were Logan Morris, Mike Carraher and Michael, who had another three-point play.
Manchester answered with five straight points, sealing the win.
"Our energy tonight wasn't very good. We got that spark there to eight or nine, and I was hoping we could push through, but that was as close as it got," Wessner said. "We made a push … made our run, but too little, too late."
The game was the final game for four WHS seniors, including: Joe Michael, Logan Morris, Mark Crowe and Mike Carraher.
"I'm very proud of our seniors. Joe, Mikey, Logan and Mark, they stuck with it. All are four-year guys. I'm very proud of them and how our juniors and sophomore have done. Hopefully we can build on this for the future."
The Wildcats end the season at 11-12 overall, sectional champions and district runners-up. WHS defeated the Green Bobcats and South Gallia Rebels this postseason.
Manchester improves to 18-5 overall and will face the South Webster Jeeps in the regional semifinals on Tuesday at the Convo.
GAME NOTES: Manchester made eight 3-pointers … WHS had 19 fouls (14 in the second half) … WHS scored in double figures all four quarters … WHS have six district runner-up trophies ('11, '06, '05, '98, '87, '66) … WHS three district titles came in '03, '02 and '00 … MHS has four district titles … MHS had 17 fouls … MHS was 13-of-23 from the free-throw line … WHS was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line.[[In-content Ad]]