LocalSportsJournal.com
LEROY– A long dry spell finally ended for the Manistee boys’ basketball team Friday night.
The visiting Chippewas opened a big lead and cruised to a 60-24 non-conference win over Pine River.
Manistee was winless in its first 11 games before Friday’s victory.
After knocking down four 3-point shots in the first quarter – two of them by Kayden Kott – the Chippewas jumped on the Bucks for a 23-7 advantage after the first eight minutes.
The scoring tailed off in the second quarter as the two teams combined for 12 points. But the Chippewas still enjoyed a 30-13 lead at halftime.
Jeff Huber hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter to lead the Chippewas to an 11-7 advantage and Manistee stretched their advantage to 21 points, 41-20, going into the fourth quarter.
“I’m very, very happy for the kids,” said Manistee coach Zach Bialik. “We pressed a little bit, (and) we caused some turnovers. We played really good defense. We limited them to one shot each possession and we made some of our shots, which was good to see.
“From the field, we were the closest we’ve been all year to 50 percent,” Bialik said. “It was a balanced team win. Shout out to Kayden Kott. He really hustled on defense and was flying around out there.”
Kott finished as the Chippewas’ leading scorer with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Ben Schlaff wound up with 10 points. Huber contributed nine and Jacob Scharp seven. Manistee was 5-of-8 at the free throw line.
Manistee (1-11, 0-6) travels to Reed City on Tuesday.
