The Shawnee Heights girls rallied from a 12 point second half deficit to take a 54-52 win from Manhattan High on Friday night. The Thunderbirds got 17 second half points from Danielle Poblarp including the game winning shot with 10 seconds left. Manhattan (12-3, 6-3) had two tries to tie the game on their final possession but came up empty. Poblarp ended the night with 23 points. The Indians were led by a career high 24 points from Caroline Ballard who topped the 20 point mark for the second straight game.
In the boys game, Manhattan High built a 12-point third quarter lead, before fighting off a furious rally by Shawnee Heights for a 64-59 win. T-Bird sophomore guard Tony Barksdale drained six three-pointers in the third quarter alone, and Heights took a 54-49 lead with four minutes left. The Tribe responded with an 11-0 run down the stretch, which the T-Birds never recovered, powered by free throw shooting on a night in which they hit 20 of 25 attempts. MHS (9-7, 5-4) was led by sophomore post Payton Stephens, who tied his career high with 18 points. Chris Hudgins and Jacob Holloway added 12 points apiece. Tony Barksdale topped Heights (7-9, 3-6) with 26 points, while Jovan Barksdale had 15. The Barksdale brothers combined for ten threes.
Manhattan High will now travel to rival Junction City on Tuesday night at 6:00pm. Coverage of the doubleheader begins at 5:45 on SportsRadio 1350 KMAN with Rob Voelker and John Kurtz.
