By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
It was a packed house for Winter Royalty at Hayden High School Friday night and the Hayden boys jumped out early to a 21-12 first- quarter lead and a 34-30 halftime advantage over Class 6A Manhattan before the Indians rallied in the second half to pull out a 68-56 win.
Hayden senior Dom Ridley scored 16 points in Friday's 68-56 Centennial League loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Jacob Padilla, who had 14 points, drives to the hoop in Friday's 68-56 Centennial League loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“We did a great job of sharing the ball early, with different guys making some big shots for us,'' Hayden coach Trey Brown said. "Dom (Ridley) and Cooper (Colboch) got off to a hot start we had a lot of energy, unselfishness and taking care of the ball and turnovers hurt us in the second half.”
The second half would be a completely different story for the Wildcats as the Indians would tie it up right away at 34 and lead the rest of the way.
“Theyre a really good team and all credit to them,'' Brown said of the Indians. "They made some good shots and we have to get better defensively. We struggle to guard at times and that's the biggest thing and credit to them, they made some big-time shots and we have to limit our turnovers whether that's taking bad shots or actually turning it over. (Turnovers) have killed us all year.
"The final score does not indicate how close the game actually was and our guys played hard,'' Brown said. "We just have to figure out how to win again and get over the hump.”
The WIldcats got big scoring nights from seniors Jacob Padilla and Ridley.
Ridley would finish with 16 and Padilla 14 as the duo combined for a perfect 17-17 performance at the free throw line.
“We keep telling them to stay positive.'' Brown said. "This is a tough league, with really tough teams, and this is only our third game healthy, so we are still finding ways and different lineups that work with us.
"The guys played hard until the last minute and a half and we are staying positive. It’s been a tough stretch and I think it’s gonna help us at the end of the year.”
The Wildcats have now lost nine games in a row with their last win coming on December 20th, a 69-56 win against Shawnee Mission West. The Wildcats are 0-5 in league play this year.
The Wildcats will be on the road next week -- Tuesday at Emporia and Friday at Washburn Rural.
MANHATTAN BOYS 68, HAYDEN 56
Manhattan 12 18 19 19-- 68
Hayden 21 13 10 12-- 56
Manhattan (9-5, 2-1) – McNabb 7-8 2-6 16, Knopp 5-9 0-0 12, Kim 5-10 0-0 12, Braxmeyer 4-7 1-2 9, Newcomer 3-7 2-2 9, Noah McFadden 3-6 0-0 6, Stanard 1-2 0-0 2, Spiegel 1-1 0-0 2, Elijah McFadden 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-52 5-10 68.
Hayden (4-10, 0-5) -- Ridley 3-10 8-8 16, Padilla 2-7 9-9 14, Hanika 4-5 0-1 8, Colboch 2-7 1-2 7, Becker 1-5 0-0 2, Charvat 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 1-1 0-0 2, Kuta 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 15-38 16-20 56.
3-Point goals– Manhattan 5 (Kim 2, Knopp 2, Newcomer 1), Hayden 5 (Ridley 2, Colboch 2, Padilla).
