A tough week for Dutch hoops

Senior night for the Varsity Dutch basketball team. Seniors, from left, with their family members are Aiden Kelly, Grant Tar, Tyler Coleman, and Max Edwards (missing, Anthony Bargardi).

Coming off the high of a win at Little Caesar’s Arena, the Dutchmen had a rough week, losing to Conference rivals Hanover Horton and East Jackson, both at home.

On Tuesday, the Hanover-Horton Comets came to town to hand the Dutch a 62-30 loss in what coach Zach Neal called, “a tough game from the start.”

“As with every game this year, we came out of blocks well and played a good first half,” he said. “After halftime, our poor shooting came back, but we still played hard against a tough opponent.”

Junior Jaxon McGuigan and Senior Aiden Kelly led the team on offense

Friday night was senior night and the Dutch welcomed the East Jackson Trojans, who brought a little more than Manchester could handle. The score was somewhat less lopsided in this game, and senior Grant Tar played his best game of the year, according to Neal.

“We celebrated our five seniors before the game, and used some of that energy for a fast start,” he said. “But we ran out of gas in the third and fourth quarters.

“We will bounce back from this (55-40) loss and we’ll have our chance on Monday at Grass Lake.”

Tonight the Dutch take on the Warriors at Grass Lake; tomorrow they will play the twice-rescheduled Napoleon Pirates at home. Wednesday night the Dutch will travel to Addison.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.