Lions rally past Hornets 51-46

Manila overcame a sluggish first half and rallied past Harrisburg 51-46 in senior boys basketball action Tuesday night on the road.

Harrisburg held a 16-10 lead after the first quarter and built their advantage to as many as nine points in the second period before settling on a 23-19 halftime edge.

The Hornets increased their lead to 30-23 midway through the third quarter, getting a two-handed slam from 6'5" junior Gavin Casebier, followed by Zack Biggers' long three-pointer. The Lions began to claw their way back behind junior guard Bradey Woodall, who scored six consecutive points. A pair of Conner Belew free throws sliced the Hornet lead to a single point, 30-29, before Matthew May's three pointer gave Manila a 32-30 lift heading into the final frame.

Manila Coach Lee Wimberley lays out the game plan to his Lions during Tuesday night's game at Harrisburg.

Casebier evened the game with a short hook shot to start the fourth quarter. Joel Burrow traded three pointers with Biggers as the game remained tied. But after a Burrow two-pointer, Biggers connected for his third consecutive triple, giving the Hornets a 38-37 edge with 6:19 to go.

Tommy Maloney dropped in a free throw at the 5:21 mark to up the Hornet lead to two, but Brock Birmingham's three-pointer with 4:25 left in the game put Manila on top stay, 40-39. May and Dylon Carruth connected on back to back buckets to increase the Lion lead to five, 44-39, at the 3:24 mark, but Biggers converted a three point play with 3:00 left, slicing Manila's lead to 44-42.

Carruth answered with a three-point play of his own with 2:45 showing on the clock, giving the Lions a 47-42 advantage. Harrisburg could get no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Carruth led Manila with 13 points while Woodall also notched double digits with 11. Burrow scored nine, Matthew May had seven, Birmingham, Belew and Abraham Lopez all scored three while Jeremiah May added two points. Manila connected on 15-20 foul shots and drained four three pointers.

Biggers pumped in a game high 24 points, including seven three pointers, to lead the Hornets, while Casebier added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In the junior high contest, Manila ripped Harrisburg 53-23. Austin Harmon paced the Lions with 15 points while Dalay Belew and Brian Gonzalez scored 11 points apiece. Anthony Lopez scored six while Ty Wagner and Alex Estell chipped in five points each.

Manila outscored Gosnell 83-71 Monday night on the road. The Lions held a 15-13 edge after the first period before taking a 35-26 lead at intermission. Manila increased its margin to 58-44 after three quarters.

Burrow sank five three pointers and finished with a game high 25 points to lead the Lions. Matthew May and Woodall poured in 17 points each while Birmingham also hit double digits with 11 points. Carruth netted seven, Jeremiah May had four while Dalton Hitchcock chipped in two points. The Lions canned 27-34 foul shots and buried eight three pointers.

Tramaine Anderson paced the Pirates with a game high 27 points while Rodale Jones added 15. Gosnell dropped in 13-24 charity tosses and made a pair of three pointers.

In the junior high game, Manila downed Gosnell 43-36 behind Belew's 16 points. Wagner and Emery Garrett scored eight points apiece, Gonzalez had seven while Lopez and Harmon chipped in two points each.

The Lions finished off the week with a 71-59 win over Trumann Friday night at Manila. Woodall led Manila with a game high 23 points while Belew chipped in 20 more. Matthew May also hit double digits, scoring 15.

Manila (14-8, 7-6 conference) broke a halftime tie, outscoring the Wildcats 23-12 in the third quarter to take control of the game, 54-43, after three periods of play.

Ben Turner led Trumann with 21 points while Kelon Booker and Aaron Hamilton chipped in 19 and 10 points respectively.

Manila won the junior high contest 44-28.

The Lions will journey to Wilson to take on Rivercrest Tuesday night before entertaining Buffalo Island Central Friday night at Lion Gym.