On another night that came down to a single possession, Manhattan High boys’ basketball leaned on the same composure it has all season to escape Dodge City with a 54-52 win Friday afternoon at the Tournament of Champions.
The basket that decided it also made history.
With 3.2 seconds left, senior guard Vince Doering waved off a timeout, attacked the rim and watched the ball sit on the iron before finally falling through. Manhattan got one last defensive stop, and head coach Benji George picked up win No. 153, passing Terry Taylor to become the winningest head coach in Manhattan High boys basketball history.
“I was getting ready to call a timeout, and Vince looked at the bench and called it off,” George said. “He knew exactly what he wanted. A great player with the ball in his hand is better than anything I can draw up. That ball sat on the rim for what felt like an eternity before it fell in. Then, once again, we did a great job defensively late and forced the stop.”
George’s milestone came fittingly against the same opponent that delivered his first career head coaching win more than a decade ago to complete a full-circle moment.
“This needs to be about the players, and all the wins are for them,” George said on his milestone. “It’s given me a chance to reflect on all the great former players we’ve had a chance to coach, the current players in the program, and all the great coaches I’ve had a chance to learn from and coach with.”
George is in his 18th year with the Manhattan High program, a tenure that began in 2008 as a freshman assistant before moving to the JV level in 2011. He was named co-interim head coach in February 2014 following the resignation of Tim Brooks and officially took over the program ahead of the 2014-15 season.
Friday’s game was a much different game than the 76-54 win Manhattan posted over Dodge City in December, but it was one the Indians have become familiar with. Friday marked Manhattan’s fifth one-possession win this season — another example of a group that has developed a knack for surviving tight finishes.
“I’ve coached for a while now, but I don’t know that I’ve ever gone through something like this,” George said. “To pull games out like that, a lot has to go your way, and you kind of have to create your own luck, too. We’ve been doing a good job of that.”
That ability to “create your own luck” showed again in Dodge City. After Doering’s game-winner, Manhattan’s defense closed the door, preventing the Red Demons from even getting a shot off in the final moments.
That sequence, George said, reflects the identity this group has built.
“It’s been defense,” he said. “We’re really bought in on the defensive end of the floor, and we’re bringing our defense to life. This is probably the smallest team I’ve ever coached, but we’re figuring out ways to win in the paint and make life hard for the other team. A lot of times, we’re using our defense to create offense.”
The win also came with a personal moment George didn’t expect.
Parents surprised him with a sign commemorating the milestone, and players gathered for photos after the game, allowing the moment to breathe.
“I have to send a huge thank you to the parents,” George said. “That’s a moment that’s special to me. It means a lot that I got there with this group.
“This group has really revived our program and put our program on a pedestal, and they’re going to be attached to that memory for me for the rest of my life. I’m indebted and hugely grateful for everything the players and parents did to make it special.”
The Tournament of Champions finale on Saturday was postponed due to winter storms across Kansas, with conversations ongoing about potentially rescheduling Manhattan’s remaining matchup against Wichita East, which could be played in Manhattan if finalized.
Regardless of when the next game comes, Friday’s win will stand as both a milestone and a snapshot of what this season has become; that is, a resilient team that reflects the culture its coach has spent nearly two decades building.
The win moved Manhattan to 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in league play before the Indians return to action Friday at Blue Valley-Stilwell.