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Do not be surprised to see the ball in Gavin Betten’s hands early in the Class 2A state championship.
It would not take Pat Riley or John Wooden-level coaching to figure that out. Betten, the 6-6 senior from Manchester, has scored 2,115 career points. Give him the ball and he will figure out what to do with it.
“In that game vs. Gary (21st Century in the semistate) on Saturday, we had it scripted the first four possessions where the ball was going to go,” Manchester coach Eli Henson said. “It was going to go down to Gavin. We know if we can get Gavin established early, it’s going to open it up for Ethan (Hendrix) and all of our perimeter players. That’s been a big part of our team. That’s what we’ve done though the tournament is get out to an early lead, leading to the (opponent) having to call a timeout and get our crowd into it.”
IHSAA basketball state finals: 35 players to watch this weekend
All-State teams: IBCA's Supreme 15, large-, small-school top players
It does not take much to get the Manchester crowd into at this point in the season, after the Squires brought 3,000 fans to Michigan City for the semistate. Fourth-ranked Manchester (25-2) will make its first state finals appearance Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (12:45 p.m.) against another first-timer, unranked University (20-9).
Both teams advanced with hard-fought victories in the semistate round. University knocked off Linton-Stockton 59-56 in overtime in the first game at the Hatchet House in Washington, then upset No. 3 Parke Heritage 53-47 in the semistate championship. Manchester defeated Gary 21st Century 53-50 in the in the night game at Michigan City, but would not have advanced without the heroics of Hendrix, a senior guard, earlier in the day.
Hendrix drilled a 3-pointer from 25 feet with 8 seconds remaining to defeat Jimtown 56-55 in the semistate semifinal. Senior Wyatt Prater flipped the ball behind him on the right wing to Hendrix, who let it fly without a second thought.
“I knew I wanted the ball,” Hendrix said. “We tried to get it inside to Gavin to go get a quick bucket, but I had (Henson) behind me telling me to shoot the ball. My teammate didn’t want to take the shot and he handed it off to me, so I had to let it fly.”
Henson’s response? “Great decision,” the fifth-year coach said.
The result shows Manchester’s success may start with Betten, a Grace College recruit, but takes more than one player. Betten averages 25.6 points (the most of any player in the state finals), along with a team-high 12.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Hendrix averages 17.9 points and 4.2 assists and shoots better than 40% from the 3-point line.
And the most confident of the bunch may be 6-1 senior Tallen Torpy, who averages 9.4 points and 2.7 assists. Torpy was ready to break down the huddle with “state champs” before the season even started.
“I just wanted to win a sectional,” Betten said of a program that had not won a sectional title since 1995. “Tallen Torpy was telling everybody before the season that he wanted to win state. Once I realized it was reasonable was probably in the middle of the season when we were pulling out games all year. I knew we could compete in the summer because even when Ethan was out playing baseball, we played well. But it was really after the sectional championship when I realized we could do it.”
Though he told Torpy to “slow down” on those state championship thoughts before the season, Henson said that confidence has paid off. “They never get rattled,” Henson said. “I’m sure they were nervous at different times, but I couldn’t tell.”
University is similarly confident. The Trailblazers started the season 2-5 under second-year coach Justin Blanding, but it was a misleading record against tough competition. University has lost just three games in the calendar year of 2025, two of those coming to Class 4A No. 3 Westfield and 3A top-10 Guerin Catholic.
“I think what sets us apart is our balance and our well-roundedness,” said junior Cooper Cammack. “A lot of the 2A teams have one or two guys. What helped us get most of our wins is we could shut down those one or two guys really well. And we have great balance. Max McComb is a great basketball player. Faisal (Mohamud) can come in and do the job. Josh Henderson has made a name for himself at the end of the season. Zien (Bland) and Blake (Gray). They are all just amazing players I have complete trust in.”
Gray, a 6-2 junior, has been particularly sizzling in the tournament. The junior had 19 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line in the win over Parke Heritage.
“We just told him to not defer,” Blanding said of Gary, who is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 42% from the 3-point line. “Sometimes you see teams where everything goes through the best player. But we don’t necessarily have a best player. We try to make sure everybody is on the same level. You can see that in our stats — it’s balanced across the board.”
McComb, a 6-4 senior, averages a team-leading 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists and shoots 37.4% from the 3-point line. The 6-2 Mohamud, a junior, averages 9.8 points and 2.6 assists and Henderson has returned from injury to average 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15 games.
“I like that this team executes and pays attention to details,” Blanding said. “And I’m still trying to figure out how this is happening, but they don’t get rattled. That’s even previous experience in sectional and regional games. I look at them like, ‘Guys, there’s going to be adversity.’ But they just look at me like I’m crazy. They just worry about what’s in front of them and don’t get distracted.”
Class 2A state finals details: Tipoff at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; game will live streamed on IHSAAtv.org for a cost of $15 or $20 for all games; Tickets are $15 per person for one session and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Participating schools also have tickets available at the respective schools.
How Manchester can win: Betten is going to get his points but efficiency for Manchester’s offense will probably tell the tale. The Squires will need Hendrix and Torpy to be play to their standards of previous tournament games.
How University can win: Balance and defense. The only team to score more than 50 points against University in the tournament was Linton-Stockton with 56 in overtime of the semistate. Another 4-fo-6 shooting night from Gray from the 3-point line would help, too.
Prediction: Manchester 57, University 52.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball Class 2A final preview, prediction University vs Manchester
Continue reading...
It would not take Pat Riley or John Wooden-level coaching to figure that out. Betten, the 6-6 senior from Manchester, has scored 2,115 career points. Give him the ball and he will figure out what to do with it.
“In that game vs. Gary (21st Century in the semistate) on Saturday, we had it scripted the first four possessions where the ball was going to go,” Manchester coach Eli Henson said. “It was going to go down to Gavin. We know if we can get Gavin established early, it’s going to open it up for Ethan (Hendrix) and all of our perimeter players. That’s been a big part of our team. That’s what we’ve done though the tournament is get out to an early lead, leading to the (opponent) having to call a timeout and get our crowd into it.”
IHSAA basketball state finals: 35 players to watch this weekend
All-State teams: IBCA's Supreme 15, large-, small-school top players
It does not take much to get the Manchester crowd into at this point in the season, after the Squires brought 3,000 fans to Michigan City for the semistate. Fourth-ranked Manchester (25-2) will make its first state finals appearance Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (12:45 p.m.) against another first-timer, unranked University (20-9).
Both teams advanced with hard-fought victories in the semistate round. University knocked off Linton-Stockton 59-56 in overtime in the first game at the Hatchet House in Washington, then upset No. 3 Parke Heritage 53-47 in the semistate championship. Manchester defeated Gary 21st Century 53-50 in the in the night game at Michigan City, but would not have advanced without the heroics of Hendrix, a senior guard, earlier in the day.
Hendrix drilled a 3-pointer from 25 feet with 8 seconds remaining to defeat Jimtown 56-55 in the semistate semifinal. Senior Wyatt Prater flipped the ball behind him on the right wing to Hendrix, who let it fly without a second thought.
“I knew I wanted the ball,” Hendrix said. “We tried to get it inside to Gavin to go get a quick bucket, but I had (Henson) behind me telling me to shoot the ball. My teammate didn’t want to take the shot and he handed it off to me, so I had to let it fly.”
Henson’s response? “Great decision,” the fifth-year coach said.
The result shows Manchester’s success may start with Betten, a Grace College recruit, but takes more than one player. Betten averages 25.6 points (the most of any player in the state finals), along with a team-high 12.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Hendrix averages 17.9 points and 4.2 assists and shoots better than 40% from the 3-point line.
And the most confident of the bunch may be 6-1 senior Tallen Torpy, who averages 9.4 points and 2.7 assists. Torpy was ready to break down the huddle with “state champs” before the season even started.
“I just wanted to win a sectional,” Betten said of a program that had not won a sectional title since 1995. “Tallen Torpy was telling everybody before the season that he wanted to win state. Once I realized it was reasonable was probably in the middle of the season when we were pulling out games all year. I knew we could compete in the summer because even when Ethan was out playing baseball, we played well. But it was really after the sectional championship when I realized we could do it.”
Though he told Torpy to “slow down” on those state championship thoughts before the season, Henson said that confidence has paid off. “They never get rattled,” Henson said. “I’m sure they were nervous at different times, but I couldn’t tell.”
University is similarly confident. The Trailblazers started the season 2-5 under second-year coach Justin Blanding, but it was a misleading record against tough competition. University has lost just three games in the calendar year of 2025, two of those coming to Class 4A No. 3 Westfield and 3A top-10 Guerin Catholic.
“I think what sets us apart is our balance and our well-roundedness,” said junior Cooper Cammack. “A lot of the 2A teams have one or two guys. What helped us get most of our wins is we could shut down those one or two guys really well. And we have great balance. Max McComb is a great basketball player. Faisal (Mohamud) can come in and do the job. Josh Henderson has made a name for himself at the end of the season. Zien (Bland) and Blake (Gray). They are all just amazing players I have complete trust in.”
Gray, a 6-2 junior, has been particularly sizzling in the tournament. The junior had 19 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line in the win over Parke Heritage.
“We just told him to not defer,” Blanding said of Gary, who is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 42% from the 3-point line. “Sometimes you see teams where everything goes through the best player. But we don’t necessarily have a best player. We try to make sure everybody is on the same level. You can see that in our stats — it’s balanced across the board.”
McComb, a 6-4 senior, averages a team-leading 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists and shoots 37.4% from the 3-point line. The 6-2 Mohamud, a junior, averages 9.8 points and 2.6 assists and Henderson has returned from injury to average 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15 games.
“I like that this team executes and pays attention to details,” Blanding said. “And I’m still trying to figure out how this is happening, but they don’t get rattled. That’s even previous experience in sectional and regional games. I look at them like, ‘Guys, there’s going to be adversity.’ But they just look at me like I’m crazy. They just worry about what’s in front of them and don’t get distracted.”
Class 2A final: Manchester vs. University keys to game, prediction
Class 2A state finals details: Tipoff at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; game will live streamed on IHSAAtv.org for a cost of $15 or $20 for all games; Tickets are $15 per person for one session and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Participating schools also have tickets available at the respective schools.
How Manchester can win: Betten is going to get his points but efficiency for Manchester’s offense will probably tell the tale. The Squires will need Hendrix and Torpy to be play to their standards of previous tournament games.
How University can win: Balance and defense. The only team to score more than 50 points against University in the tournament was Linton-Stockton with 56 in overtime of the semistate. Another 4-fo-6 shooting night from Gray from the 3-point line would help, too.
Prediction: Manchester 57, University 52.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball Class 2A final preview, prediction University vs Manchester
Continue reading...
