The Manhattan High boys are headed back to state.

The No. 4-seeded Indians took care of business on their home floor Saturday night, taking down No. 5 Wichita East 57-48 in the sub-state championship. Manhattan enters the Class 6A state tournament with a 17-7 record and an outright Centennial League title.

After missing the mark the past two seasons, Manhattan returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2023, when it nearly pulled off a first-round upset of No. 2 seed Blue Valley North before falling 44-39 in overtime.

“It feels so good,” head coach Benji George said on going back to state. “I told the players early in the year that I’ve never had such a clear vision of how I wanted a team to play. And I don’t know if they quite saw it yet, but they could kind of squint and see it. I told them we were going to start out looking like a garage band, but by the end, we were going to be the New York Symphony.

“And we’re not there yet — we have a lot more work to do. But that has to be — especially on the defensive end of the floor — as well as we played all year.”

Manhattan was led in scoring down the stretch by senior guards Will Carpenter and Vince Doering. Carpenter finished with 15 points, including 11 in the second half, while Doering added 13 points with nine coming after halftime.

“Winning the paint was huge,” George said. “I’m just so proud we were tougher for longer.”

How it happened

Manhattan made a living inside early, drawing fouls and converting at the rim while relying on defensive intensity on the other end. The Indians led by as many as seven early, but a late Blue Aces 3-pointer cut the margin to 11-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The defensive tone carried into the second period as points came at a premium. Sophomore forward Tyson Hattrup knocked down his first triple of the season and finished with 7 first-half points, helping Manhattan build a 23-12 halftime lead.

The Indians carried that momentum into the second half. A quick 5-0 run to open the third quarter pushed Manhattan’s advantage to its largest to that point at 16 points. The teams traded baskets through the rest of the period, but the Indians maintained control, leading 40-22 entering the final quarter.

With a sizable cushion built through three periods of relentless defense, Manhattan closed things out in the fourth, eventually turning the final minutes over to its reserves after maintaining a double-digit lead.

Manhattan’s state tournament journey will begin Wednesday, with opponent and location still to be determined. KSHSAA adjusted its state-site format this season, giving higher seeds geographic preference among host cities. Matchups are expected to be announced on Monday.

MANHATTAN 57,

WICHITA EAST 48

MHS (17-7) — 11; 12; 17; 17; — 57

Wichita East (15-9) — 7; 5; 10; 16; — 48

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

MHS — Carpenter 15, Doering 13, Sawyer Newton 7, Witt 2, Washington 9, Hattrup 9, Duff 5

Wichita East — Hunter 3, Henderson 19, Phillips Grey 10, Korir 6, Welch 8, Butler 2