Manchester senior Drew Kennedy was the man of the hour on Wednesday night in Fayetteville as his last-second three point goal gave the Greyhounds a 53-51 come-from-behind win over the host Rockets. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester boys improve to 11-8
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It’s a long drive from Manchester to Fayetteville but it was well worth it on Wednesday night for the Manchester Greyhounds and their fans as their varsity Hounds gave them an evening of excitement that culminated in a last-second victory over the host Rockets.
Trailing by 13 at the half and then by 15 in the third quarter, the Greyhounds mounted a furious rally that ended when senior Drew Kennedy drilled a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds to play to give the Hounds a thrilling 53-51 road win in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.
The win improved the Greyhounds to 11-8 on the season, 5-6 in conference play, just one game behind second place Whiteoak.
At Fayetteville in Wednesday’s make up game, the Hounds found themselves training 14-8 after one quarter and then were outscored 16-8 in the second period to face a double-digit deficit at the half, 30-17.
Whatever Coach Austin Kingsolver imparted to his squad at the intermission, it lit a fire under the Manchester offense as they exploded for 36 second-half points. Braylan Roberts scored all of his 13 points in the second half, six of those in the third quarter as the comeback progressed. By the end of three, the Hounds had crept back to within 42-34, setting up the dramatic fourth and final period.
The Greyhounds continued to slice the Fayetteville lead, as the came came down to what Coach Kingsolver deemed “the longest and most stressful of his life.”That minute came down to the Rockets leading 51-50 with 13 seconds left and Kingsolver calling a timeout.
“We called an earlier timeout to set up what offense and defense were going to be in on the next trip,” explained Coach Kingsolver. “We told everyone to be ready to score on the catch. Drew doesn’t shoot too many from outside but I remember specifically looking him in the eye and saying, ‘Drew, you’ve got the green light here.’ He delivered in a big way.”
With 13 seconds remaining in regulation, the Greyhounds inbounded the ball, desperately looking for the shot that could be the game-winner. On the left wing, Kennedy stepped up to set a screen, then faded back behind the three-point line. The ball ended up in his hands and with 1,9 seconds on the clock, he took the shot that found the bottom of the net and gave the Hounds the lead, setting off a wild celebration on the Manchester side. The Rockets were able to inbounds the ball and get off a desperation shot that was off the mark and the Greyhounds had pulled off the seemingly impossible comeback.”
“It was a tale of two halves,” said Kingsolver. “We struggled to keep them in front of us and let them speed us up early. We got downhill late and controlled the tempo of the game in the second half. I’m proud of the guys for persevering and fighting through a;; the adversity of digging such a hole. The energy on the floor, bench and in the stands was electric.”
The win was the second of the season for the Greyhounds over Fayetteville and they won’t have too much time to dwell on it as they jump right back into conference play on Friday night as they host the Whiteoak Wildcats, who defeated the Hounds 77-63 back in December.
Saturday night (February 3) will be the inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame induction at Manchester, with the contest being a non-conference affair with the East Clinton Astros.
