Manual basketball uses stingy defense to eliminate defending Seventh Region champion Male
There’s no official award for Seventh Region Defensive Player of the Year, but Manual High School boys basketball coach Miquel Coleman believes he has the guy.
Senior Josh Darst stated his case Tuesday, holding down one of the state’s top shooters as the host Crimsons beat rival Male, 70-57, in a Seventh Region Tournament quarterfinal.
Male sophomore Cole Edelen scored a team-high 14 points but did not hit a 3-pointer. He entered the game with 116 3-pointers made this season, ranking seventh in the state.
“Just constant pressure,” Darst said of the game plan. “We couldn’t give him space to shoot. … Just make the other people beat us.”
While Darst did the job on defense, Manual got the balanced scoring attack it covets.
Malachi Coleman scored 19 points, and Justice Decker and Ryan Shene both added 18.
“It’s hard to cover us,” Miquel Coleman said. “We have seven or eight guys who can make plays. If the defense makes a mistake, one of those guys is going to make a play.”
No. 11-ranked Manual (28-4) advanced to face No. 6 Trinity at 5:30 p.m. Friday in a regional semifinal at Valley. The Crimsons are seeking their first regional title since 1972.
“Trinity is tough team,” Miquel Coleman said. “They’re big, physical. Much bigger than us. Drae Vasser is a dog, and they’re a well-coached team. I think it’s going to be another grind-it-out affair in the Seventh Region, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Down 31-19 at halftime, Male went to a small lineup to start the third quarter and pulled within 34-32 on Jayson Gasaway’s 3-pointer at the 3:03 mark.
But Manual scored 10 straight points to regain control. Shene’s 3-pointer started the run, and Malachi Coleman capped it with two free throws that gave the Crimsons a 44-32 edge with 37.7 seconds left in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Darst was making things tough on Male’s top scorer.
“We knew we had to take Cole out,” Miquel Coleman said. “Josh just made him run and work for everything.”
Male, the Seventh Region champion in 2022 and 2023, finished 22-11. The Bulldogs hit 7 of 24 3-point attempts.
“We had wide-open looks from guys who usually knock them down,” Male coach Tim Haworth said. “Just a rough shooting night.”
MALE 9 10 15 23 - 57
MANUAL 15 16 13 26 - 70
Male (22-11) – Cole Edelen 14, Keashawn Jordan 2, Dash Egan 2, Max Gainey 8, Julian Mansfield 2, Landon Cowan 8, Jordan Mitchell 6, Terrence Hall 4, Jayson Gasaway 11.
Manual (28-4) – Justice Decker 18, Malachi Coleman 19, Ryan Shene 18, Josh Darst 9, Mark Woods 1, Jared Tuvlin 2, Deshawn McGee 3.
Seneca 73, Eastern 63
Seventh Region Player of the Year Quel’Ron House scored 38 points to lead the Redhawks (16-15) over the host Eagles (22-10).
House hit 11 of 18 shots, including 3 of 5 3-point attempts, and was 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. He also had seven assists as Seneca advanced to face St. Xavier at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a regional semifinal at Valley.
Tyran Gray was 5 for 5 from 3-point range and scored 16 points for Seneca, which never trailed. The Redhawks finished 11 of 18 from 3-point range.
Sam Locke scored 16 points to lead Eastern.
SENECA 20 20 15 18 - 73
EASTERN 12 22 9 20 - 63
Seneca (16-15) – Reece Asher 3, Quel’Ron House 38, Tyran Gray 16, Prestyn Wheatley 4, Coryion Martin 5, Terance Wilson 7.
Eastern (22-10) – Josh Brock 7, Tyler Freeman 9, Jack Donan 11, Andrew Key 6, Sam Locke 16, Isaac Miller 4. Sam Bird 10.
St. Xavier 80, Shawnee 35
Chance Dillingham scored 17 points and the No. 7-ranked Tigers (30-3) hit 12 3-pointers in a rout of the visiting Golden Eagles (15-14).
Will Hanke (10 points, 11 rebounds) added a double-double for St. X, which finished 12 of 29 from 3-point range. The Tigers led, 51-23, at halftime and cruised the rest of the way.
Josh Lindsay and Dewayne Smith both scored 10 points to lead Shawnee, which was in a regional for the first time since making the Sixth Region Tournament in 2011.
SHAWNEE 11 12 5 7 - 35
ST. XAVIER 24 27 24 5 - 80
Shawnee (15-14) – Corey Garner 5, Alex Coleman 4, Joey Foushee 1, Mark Shaw 4, Markel Maddox 1, Josh Lindsay 10, Dewayne Smith 10.
St. Xavier (30-3) – Will Hanke 10, Graham Krezmien 7, Chief Cameron 10, Chance Dillingham 17, Jeremiah Jackson 12, Connor Klein 7, Bryce Johnson 8, Brandon Dayes 2, Trevor Schubert 3, NoaSosa Friedman 4.
More Seventh Region Tournament: Trinity, behind Jayden Johnson, tops Ballard in quarterfinals
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA basketball: Manual eliminates defending 7th Region champ Male
