Manchester senior Elijah Crabtree scores the final basket of his high school career to open the game as the Greyhounds went on to down the Lynchburg Mustangs 50-43 on Senior Night. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

Manchester senior Elijah Crabtree scores the final basket of his high school career to open the game as the Greyhounds went on to down the Lynchburg Mustangs 50-43 on Senior Night. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

<p>An exuberant Joel Blythe dribbles out the final seconds of the Manchester Senior Night win over Lynchburg. Blythe was clutch down the stretch in the win, sinking four free throws to help seal the Greyhound victory.(Photo by Mark Carpenter)</p>

An exuberant Joel Blythe dribbles out the final seconds of the Manchester Senior Night win over Lynchburg. Blythe was clutch down the stretch in the win, sinking four free throws to help seal the Greyhound victory.(Photo by Mark Carpenter)
<p>This layup from Manchester senior Parker Hayslip after a steal by teammate Braylon Rickett was part of the big fourth quarter run that lifted the Greyhounds to a 50-43 win over Lynchburg on January 30. Hayslip led the Hounds with 20 points on Senior Night. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)</p>

This layup from Manchester senior Parker Hayslip after a steal by teammate Braylon Rickett was part of the big fourth quarter run that lifted the Greyhounds to a 50-43 win over Lynchburg on January 30. Hayslip led the Hounds with 20 points on Senior Night. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

Excitement abounded at Manchester High School on Friday, January 30 as the Greyhounds and their very boisterous crowd celebrated Senior Night, honoring the seven seniors on the Greyhounds’ varsity. The opponent for the evening was the Lynchburg Mustangs and the two teams gave the fans on hand a night to remember.

Both teams came into Friday night desperately wanting another Southern Hills Athletic Conference win and for three quarters it looked like the visiting Mustangs might steal that from the home team, but high school basketball games do last four quarters and the Greyhounds took full advantage of that. With numerous clutch plays and free throws down the stretch from their senior leaders, Coach Austin Kingsolver’s squad outscored the Mustangs 16-3 over the final eight minutes to rally and post an exciting 60-43 victory, improving their record to 8-11 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

“This was a really emotional night but I had a blast,” Coach Kingsolver told C103 Radio after the victory. “I think both teams tonight are sneaky physical and I thought they did a great job of getting downhill on offense but we were fortunate that they weren’t making shots, not even one three-pointer. I thought we contained their drives and rebounded really well down the stretch and of course, we made free throws which was huge We need to beat a good team and finish a close game.”

“We’ve dealt with injuries all year and kids like Traeven (Hilderbrand) and Joel (Blythe) have stepped up and given us great minutes. They both play so, so hard and they give us much energy as anyone on the floor.”

Points were at a premium early in Friday night’s first quarter as Lynchburg head coach Kyle Pertuset, former head man at Manchester, had the Greyhounds well-scouted. The score was tied four different times before the Mustangs finished the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead 14-8 after one.

Looking for the rest of the story? Of course you are! Look no further than the February 4 edition of The People’s Defender. Pick up your copy in any village of the county or even better, get your year-long subscription started today and you’ll never miss any of the region’s best news and sports coverage. Call (937) 544-2391 to get the Defender delivered every week right to your mailbox!