By Brandon Walker EBS Editorial Assistant
BIG SKY – An impressive display of shooting and swarming defense led the Manhattan Christian Eagles varsity boys basketball team to victory over the Lone Peak High School Big Horns 81-27, on Dec. 20.
The Eagles’ shooters put their marksmanship on showcase all night long as they knocked down 14 3-pointers in the contest. That sharpshooting propelled them to a 23-4 advantage after the first quarter.
Lone Peak junior Nolan Schumacher was undeterred by the tenacity of the Eagles. “We’ve always had a lot of trouble with Manhattan Christian. But I think in the first quarter that we had the energy to go at them and kind of keep up with them.”
LPHS fought hard in the second quarter, pouring in their highest scoring effort of any quarter. The 12 points from the Big Horns as a team left the score at 45-16 at the half. “That’s one of the best things about our team is that we always work hard no matter what the score is,” said Schumacher.
Stifling defense from Manhattan Christian the rest of the way made it tough for Lone Peak to get anything going offensively. Senior Frankie Starz led the Big Horns with eight points, while fellow senior Austin Samuels and Schumacher contributed six apiece.
LPHS head coach John Hannahs was not disappointed with his team’s effort throughout the entire contest. “We played a really good team tonight and they shot lights out. I was happy with the amount of looks we got at the basket because they were very strong defensively as well. They put a lot of pressure on us,” Hannahs said. “…We knew this was going to be a tough game and I just wanted to make sure that they put a performance out there that they could be proud of and they absolutely did that.”
Lone Peak (0-4) will host the Harrison-Willow Creek Wildcats in their next matchup on Jan. 3.
Box Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Lone Peak 4 12 5 6 27
Manhattan Christian 23 22 19 17 81
Lone Peak: Frankie Starz 8, Austin Samuels 6, Nolan Schumacher 6, Michael Romney 5, Nick Brester 2
Manhattan Christian: Sam Leep 19, Josiah Amunrud 18, Devan Walho 8, Caidin Hill 7, Seth Amunrud 5, Tebarek Hill 5, Logan Leep 4, Charlie Keith 4, Jake Leep 4, Jacob Bos 3, Matthew Kenney 2, Willem Kem 2
