InWednesday night’s Northern 4A Region quarterfinal, Reed put the brakes on the Miners for three quarters, but it wasn’t enough.
Manogue exploded for 27 fourth-quarter points and went on to win 65-56 at home, ending the Raiders’ season in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season.
“We just started turning the ball over and got lazy with the ball,” first-year Reed coach Dustin Hall said. “We allowed them to turn their defense into offense, and they got a lot of quick buckets.”
Reed led 47-43 with 5:46 left in the game, but once Manogue reached the bonus situation, it opened the door for a comeback.
With 5:32 remaining, Manogue’s Keith Fuetsch was fouled on a putback. He converted the three-point play, cutting the deficit to 47-46.
A minute later, Fuetsch was fouled in the backcourt and he went to the charity stripe. Fuetsch knocked down both ends of a 1-and-1 to give the Miners a 48-47. That was the beginning of the end for the Raiders’ upset bid.
Bobby Hunter forced a steal and scored on a breakaway for a 50-47 Manogue lead, and two free throws made it 52-47 with 3:20 to play.
Reed senior Lennox Pierce tried to keep his team in the game by draining a 3-pointer from the corner on a kickout by D’Marshae Vann. However, Pierce fouled out on the ensuing possession, while trying to stop a Hunter drive to the basket. Pierce had a team-high 13 points.
Hunter proceeded to make both free throws without touching iron for a 54-50 edge at 2:20 mark.
The Blue and Gold answered right back when Mike Powell found Aaron Greenblat cutting backdoor on the baseline for an easy layup. But Reed couldn’t keep Hunter from driving to the basket for another easy deuce.
With 1:30 on the clock, Powell had two chances to hit 3-pointers but both attempts were off the mark. Reed had to start fouling with 56 seconds left.
Hunter only made the first free throw, pushing the gap to 57-52.
Vann was fouled on his drive to the hoop and he converted two free throws, but the Raiders could not get closer than three points.
After a Vann pull-up jumper at the elbow made it 59-56, Manogue scored six unanswered points in a 10-second span thanks to two straight Raider turnovers in the backcourt.
Vann was the only other Reed player in double figures with 12.
A 14-of-17 effort from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter helped the Miners seasl the victory.
Manogue hit nine treys on the night, but only two came after halftime when the private Catholic school made its comeback.
Twenty-one of the Miners’ 31 first-half points came from behind the arc as the home team claimed a 31-29 lead at the break.
Reed led the entire third quarter after Aaron Iffrig sank one of his three 3-pointers, giving Reed a 32-31 lead. The RHS crew’s biggest lead of the game was 43-38 when the Raiders killed over a minute of the clock and Pierce made a layup with 2 seconds left in the third period.
Fuetsch led all scorers with 18 points, while Niles Lujan added 17 and Hunter had 14.
For Reed to come that close to stunning the Sierra League champs was an accomplishment in itself. The fourth seed from the High Desert League finished the winter campaign at 12-13.
“From Day 1 compared to where we are right now, I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” Hall said. “Sitting in Damonte’s locker room on opening night after a 14-point loss and then where we are right now, each player got better and better everyday. It’s just fun for us as coaches to sit back and watch them grow up, not only as basketball players but as individuals. We watched a lot of boys turn into men.”
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