Cloudy and windy during the evening with a few showers developing late. Low 41F. S winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..
Tonight
Cloudy and windy during the evening with a few showers developing late. Low 41F. S winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Manhattan High’s Jack Wilson shoots between Washburn Rural’s JC Heim, left, and Griffin Durst during their game Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan. The Indians beat the Junior Blues, 78-70.
Manhattan High’s Collins Elumogo, left, steals the ball from Washburn Rural’s Max Bettis during the Indians’ 78-70 win over the Junior Blues on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan.
Former Manhattan High basketball standout Trevor Hudgins chats with coaches Tony Ingram, left, and Benji George before a game against Washburn Rural on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan. Hudgins, a 2017 MHS graduate, is now playing in the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
Manhattan High’s Jack Wilson shoots between Washburn Rural’s JC Heim, left, and Griffin Durst during their game Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan. The Indians beat the Junior Blues, 78-70.
Manhattan High’s Collins Elumogo, left, steals the ball from Washburn Rural’s Max Bettis during the Indians’ 78-70 win over the Junior Blues on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan.
Former Manhattan High basketball standout Trevor Hudgins chats with coaches Tony Ingram, left, and Benji George before a game against Washburn Rural on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Manhattan. Hudgins, a 2017 MHS graduate, is now playing in the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
Jack Wilson scored 24 points to lead hot-shooting Manhattan High boys’ basketball to a 78-70 win over 6A No. 10 Washburn Rural Friday night.
The Indians’ 78 points were a season-high, outdoing the 76 points they scored last Tuesday at Topeka High.
Wilson made 9-of-12 attempts, while Manhattan as a team went 63% (25-of-40) from the field and hit 50% (7-of-14) of its 3-pointers. The Indians also went 21-of-25 at the free-throw line.
Cole Coonrod contributed 15 points and Collins Elumogo had 13.
For their part, the Junior Blues shot 56% (25-of-45) overall and 54% (13-of-24) from long distance. However, Manhattan (11-8) forced Washburn Rural to turn over the basketball 13 times and only allowed the Junior Blues to go 7-of-9 at the charity stripe.
Jack Ballard paced Washburn Rural with 20 points, while Wyatt Conklin added 16 and Jacob Hirschi had 11.
With the victory, the Indians earned the season sweep over Washburn Rural (13-5) and are responsible for both of its Centennial League losses this year. The Junior Blues entered the game with a seven-game winning streak.
The Indians exploded out of the gate offensively, making nine of their first 10 shot attempts by attacking the rim and occasionally kicking it out for a 3-pointer. The Junior Blues hung close early, leading 7-6 at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter.
But then Manhattan outscored Washburn Rural 20-7 the rest of the opening period, powered by 12 points from Wilson. The Indians went 11-of-14 in the first quarter and hit 3-of-3 triples to build a 26-13 lead. They forced five Junior Blues turnovers while not giving it up themselves.
Manhattan came back down to Earth a bit in the second half, though, shooting 4-of-11 in the quarter. After the Indians grew their advantage to 16 early in the period, Washburn Rural cut it to single digits at 34-28 with 50 seconds to play in the half.
At the intermission, Manhattan maintained a 38-28 margin, having gone 15-of-25 from the field in the opening two frames. The Junior Blues made 10-of-17 shots in the first half and committed nine turnovers.
The Indians kept their lead in double digits through most of the third and fourth quarters. Washburn Rural got it down below 10 points in the final two minutes of the game but never got any closer than seven points.
After struggling with turnovers the past few games, Manhattan only gave up possession nine times Friday night. The Indians won the rebounding battle 20-17.
Manhattan will return to action on Tuesday when it hosts Hayden in its regular-season finale.
