Boys basketball: Class 2A, University Trailblazers

University is making its first ever boys basketball state finals appearance

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

It’s always a unique scenario when both teams that are vying for a state championship have never been there before. This happens to be the case with the Class 2A boys basketball state championship with Manchester and University when they meet up Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 12:45 p.m.

On paper, these two teams have caught fire at the perfect time. It’s just a matter of what happens on the big stage in front of all those fans to cap off their state tournament runs.

No. 3 Manchester Squires (25-2) vs. University Trailblazers (20-9)

Week-by-week, University keeps making history for its program. Winning its sixth sectional and their second regional title, the Blazers now have their first semi-state championship and are set to play for their first state championship. University claimed its first semi-state championship last Saturday with wins over Linton-Stockton and Parke Heritage.

Head coach Justin Blanding is 32-22 in his second season, and he already has the Blazers making their first state finals appearance. Blanding coached the University girls from 2015-23 and went 154-40, leading them to semi-state twice in 2019 and 2022.

University plays a tough schedule with eight opponents that are 3A and 4A enrollment. Going 3-5 in those games has made the Trailblazers a battle-tested team, preparing them for a tournament run like this.

The regular season started out rough at 2-5, four of those first five losses were by five points or less. After that, the Blazers won nine of 10, including an eight-game winning streak, their longest of the season.

University went 3-3 before sectional started, with lopsided losses to Heritage Christian, Westfield and Guerin Catholic, but that just fueled the Trailblazers for this tournament run through Class 2A south for seven consecutive wins, 6-0 in state tournament play.

Senior Max McComb is the leading scorer with 15.1 points per game with 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Junior Blake Gray is the other double-figure scorer with 11.6 per contest. Gray pulls down 3.1 rebounds and dishes out 2.5 assists. Fellow junior Faisal Mohamud is at 9.8 points.

Sophomore Josh Henderson averages 7.1 points and four rebounds, along with junior Cooper Cammack (5.0, 5.5 boards), senior Zien Bland (4.5) and sophomore Peter Morales (4.5) all contribute to the Trailblazers’ offensive attack.

University scores 58.2 points per game, but allows 54.0 per game. The Trailblazers grab 24.3 rebounds, dish out 14.8 assists and create 9.1 steals per outing. They also shoot 46 percent overall, 34 percent on three-pointers and 53 percent from inside the arc and match the Squires at 68 percent at the foul line.

Manchester has also reached the state finals for the first time in their program’s history, dating back to the 1930s. The Squires have won 13 sectional titles, but this was their first since 1995. They won just their second regional, 54-36 over Tipton and made their first semi-state appearance since 1994. In that previous semi-state appearance, Manchester lost to eventual state champion South Bend Clay and former Purdue standout Jaraan Cornell.

The Squires have just two losses on the season. In their second game, they lost to 4A Homestead (71-48) and then rattled off 17 straight wins. Their second loss came at Maconaquah (75-70 in overtime) just two weeks before sectional. They won their final two regular season games, along with five in a row in the tournament for a current seven-game winning streak heading into the state finals.

Head coach Eli Henson has Manchester on the right track in just his fifth season with an 83-35 record. Henson is 192-139 overall in 14 seasons. Previously, he was at Whitko (46-48) from 2016-20 and North White (63-56) from 2011-16, winning a sectional in 2014.

Manchester tied for first with Maconaquah in the newly formed Three Rivers Conference with an 8-1 league mark. They also had key regular season wins over Tippecanoe Valley, LaVille, Northwestern, Rochester, Adams Central and Bluffton.

A senior laden group, the Squires are led by Gavin Betten averaging a double-double at 25.6 points and 12 rebounds. He also dishes out 4.1 assists, grabs 3.3 steals and blocks 3.0 shots per game. Ethan Hendrix compliments well at 17.9 per contest, along with 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.1 steals. Hendrix also shoots 41 percent (53-130) from three-point range.

Tallon Torpy comes in at 9.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals. Torpy also shoots great from outside at 34 percent (41-122). Kaleb Kline chips in 4.6 points and has made 36-for-80 (45 percent) from outside-the-arc. Junior Aaron Reid rounds out the starting five at 2.7.

As a team, Manchester scores 67.7 and gives up just 44.3 per game. They average 29.5 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 11.5 steals and turn it over just 9.2 times per contest. The Squires shoot 50 percent overall, making 58 percent of 2’s and 35 percent of their 3’s and are 68 percent free throw shooters.