The Manchester Essex boys basketball team has established itself as a team that can win games in many different ways. In Friday’s Division 4 Round of 32 matchup with No. 24 Bay Path, the No. 9 Hornets showed off their half-court game.
In a physical, slower paced game that was ruled by tough defense on both ends of the floor, Manchester Essex stifled the Minuteman offense all night and made more shots in a 59-47 win.
“It was all about our defense tonight,” Manchester Essex head coach Tim St. Laurent said. “We know we’re going to score and when we defend like that we’re tough to beat. That’s a tough team we played against that battled I night but it was about our toughness tonight and we were able to bring in enough rebounds and make enough stops.”
With the win the Hornets (18-3) advance to the Round of 16 at No. 8 Cathedral (11-10). The date and time of the Round of 16 matchup is still TBA.
The visiting Minutemen (14-7) came out strong and took an 18-16 lead after a first quarter that saw three ties and three lead changes. Manchester Essex took the lead for good with a 12-0 run early in the second to go up 28-21 and took a 31-25 lead into the break.
Cade Furse and Ed Chareas led the offense in the first half with Furse scoring 13 of his 18 in the first two quarters and Chareas with 10 of his 18 in the first half. Chareas, a 6-foot-6 center, was dominant in the paint with 13 rebounds and four blocks to go with a thunderous two-handed dunk late in the fourth that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Brennan Twombly led the way in the second half as he scored every point in a 6-0 Hornets run to open the second half and extend the lead to 39-25. Twombly had 10 of his 12 in the final two quarters.
Manchester Essex would maintain at least a three possession lead for the duration of the second half. While Bay Path never went away, the Hornets made enough stops and sank enough shots to keep them at bay.
“(Bay Path) made some big shots early but it’s tougher to hit those in the second half than it is in the first quarter,” St. Laurent said. “We kept up the defensive effort and limited their looks at the basket. And we got the scoring going when we needed to.”
The Hornets will now go from a brand new opponent to a very familiar one. Manchester Essex and Cathedral will be meeting in the Round of 16 for the second season in a row. Manchester Essex pulled off the upset on the road last year as the No. 12 seed over the No. 5 seed.
Division 4 Round of 32
No. 9 Manchester Essex 59, No. 24 Bay Path 47
at Manchester Essex High School
Bay Path 18;7;10;12 |47
Manchester Essex 16;15;14;14 |59
BP: Jon Nussey 5-0-14, Peter Barbale 3-2-9, Trent Szela 3-1-9, Corey Scovil 3-2-9, Zack Fritz 1-0-3, Dale Nussey 1-0-3.
ME: Cade Furse 6-3-18, Ed Chareas 9-0-18, Brennan Twombly 6-0-12, Sam Athanas 3-0-8, Ben Hurd 1-1-3.
3-Pointers: BP, Nussey 4, Szela 2, Barbale, Scovil, Fritz, Nussey; ME, Furse 3, Athanas.
Halftime: 31-25 ME.
Records: BP 14-7; ME, 18-3.