Coming off of a double-overtime win against Columbia Christian on Friday night, the Mannahouse Christian Academy Lions looked to topple the Knappa juggernaut in the Northwest League title game. Knappa did not play all week after winning the regular season title.
While both teams had secured playoff bids, the winner would be guaranteed a top-8 seed and a home game making the path to Pendleton that much easier.
Despite an effective fight from Mannahouse, Knappa would go on to win 52-27.
Knappa quickly built a 10-3 lead in the first quarter, but then Mannahouse’s game plan started to take effect. The Lions kept a very slow and deliberate pace to the game - not allowing Knappa to get live ball turnovers and transition baskets.
Knappa went through a 6-minute drought on offense and that allowed Mannahouse to climb back into the game. At halftime, Knappa led 15-9.
“Mannahouse took the air out of the ball and made our guys frustrated,” Knappa coach Paul Isom said after the game. “It was a great coaching job [by Ryan Bjornsgard],” Isom also commented.
It would take until the end of the third quarter for Knappa to finally pull away. With guards Shane McMahan and Tanner Jackson struggling to find their rhythm and Northwest League MVP Logan Morrill in foul trouble, seniors Brandon Gale and Carter Morrill took over the game.
After hitting the first three point shot of the game for the Loggers, Gale then hit a double-clutch 15-foot shot. This offensive spark allowed Knappa to get into their press and force turnovers that have been the crux of their offense this year.
Carter Morrill scored 8 points in the fourth quarter alone by positioning himself to receive passes from his teammates. On the defensive end, Carter Morrill “dominated the paint” as Isom described it.
Both Carter Morrill and Gale led Knappa in scoring with 11 points a piece.
Gale has always been an offensively-gifted player, but against Mannahouse he had a breakout game as an all around player. On the defensive side of the house, Gale registered a couple of blocked shots, steals, and transition defensive stands.
“I really just needed to put more effort in on defense [than I did as a freshman],” Gale said after the game, “My teammates are all so good at defense that it motivated me to become better at it.”
The disruption from all the Knappa players forced Mannahouse to shoot off-balance and oddly-angled shots, reducing the Lions’ accuracy the entire game. Seniors Devin Johnson and Chisom Okafor led Mannahouse in scoring with 6 points a piece.
With the win, Knappa secured the #2 seed in the 2A playoff bracket. They play Toledo at home next Friday. The last meeting between those two teams this year ended in a 65-38 Knappa victory.
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