Hawks Report: Boys Basketball Bounces Back

The Manchester boys basketball team is back at .500, keeping it in the running for a trip to the Shore Conference Tournament and the state playoffs.

The Hawks (7-7) were 2-3 coming into January, and lost a pair of games before stringing together consecutive victories over Pinelands, Brick and Central. Manchester has alternated losses and wins, falling to Jackson but beating Marlboro, then losing to Lacey before the Hawks rebounded on Tuesday with a 53-46 victory over Barnegat, which avenged an earlier loss to the Bengals. Mason Jones led Manchester with a game-high 23 points.’

Manchester faces Brick Memorial on Thursday night, and has meetings with Pinelands and Brick in the coming days.

In girls basketball: The Hawks (4-10) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 69-61 victory over Barnegat in double overtime on Tuesday. Manchester trailed by six points after three quarters and responded with 18 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game, then after the teams scored 8 apiece in the first overtime, Manchester put up 12 in the second and shut the door on Barnegat. Anevea Tinnery scored 17 points and Keajah Howard had 14.

The Hawks face Brick and Pinelands in their next two games.

In wrestling: Manchester (3-8) has struggled to find itself this season.

The Hawks have lost five straight matches, including Class B South meetings with Brick on Jan. 7 and a 34-27 loss to Central late last week where the Hawks started out strong, with four straight victories at the upperweights, before Central took over. A late comeback brought Manchester to within four points at 31-27, but the Golden Eagles closed out the match with a decision. Chris Stafford (138) and Jesse Meany, a Region VI medalist a season ago, have been solid for the Hawks.

In swimming: Dayna Stewart was a bright spot for the Hawks’ swimming teams, taking fifth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 100 freestyle. No other Hawks finished in the top 10.