It was all defense on Friday night as 69传媒 High boys69传媒 basketball fell short of stealing a road win against Emporia in a 37-35 loss.
69传媒淚 really love how we battled defensively,69传媒 head coach Benji George said. 69传媒淚n such a physical game, it was just one of those games where points were at a premium.69传媒
The Indians (5-9) came in looking for consecutive wins for the first time this season and battled to the end but ultimately was plagued by a poor shooting night. The Indians failed to have anyone in double-figure scoring as sophomore Henry Witt led the way with eight.
69传媒淕reat spark off the bench with Henry,69传媒 George said. 69传媒淎nd it really started on defensive end of the floor, getting his hand on balls and generating turnovers.69传媒
The Spartans (10-4) moved their win streak to five straight despite a late scare by 69传媒, who erased a late seven-point deficit. The Indians moved to 1-4 on the road this season.
The struggles for the Indians came early, falling behind 7-2, as the defense had to keep 69传媒 afloat through the first quarter. Noah McFadden, coming off back-to-back 20-point contests, bottomed a 3-pointer to close the gap.
Landon Knopp sank one from deep as well but it was Emporia with a 12-8 advantage after a low-scoring first quarter. Knopp bottomed a second triple to open the second quarter, jump-starting a run for the Indians that gave them their first lead of the contest.
After that point, points were hard to come by on both ends as the two foes traded the lead back and forth, finishing the half at a 19-19 deadlock. Knopp and Sawyer Newton led the way with five points each in the half.
The same trends emerged as 69传媒 committed more than its allotment of turnovers in the third quarter. Witt got on the board with a 3-pointer, but it was followed by a 7-0 Spartan spurt.
Before late free throws in the final seconds by McFadden, 69传媒69传媒檚 only points of the quarter came from Witt69传媒檚 triple. With the struggle to score, Emporia took a five-point advantage into the final frame.
Still trailing by four, Witt connected for an and-one just before the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-1 sophomore totaled eight second-half points as 69传媒69传媒檚 deficit was cut to one point.
Entering the final two minutes, the contest was knotted up at 33-33, but 69传媒 failed to convert when it needed. Emporia made its free throws and was able to protect its home court.
Up next for 69传媒 is a trip to Washburn Rural (10-4) on Tuesday.
EMPORIA 37,
MANHATTAN 35
Emporia (10-4) 69传媒 12; 7; 10; 8 69传媒 37
69传媒 (5-9) 69传媒 8; 11; 5; 11 69传媒 35
INDIVIDUAL POINTS
Emporia 69传媒 Franklin 8, Jacob 7, Seidel 3, Shively, 3 Crowell 10, Trelc 6
69传媒 69传媒 Newton 5, Doering 2, McFadden 5, Witt 8, Knopp 5, Goodpasture 2, Spiegel 6
