Manual boys basketball pulled off three upsets in the 3A tournament, but fell short in the Final 4. (Danielle Ennis/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER – Manual boys basketball had a storybook run this postseason, but it came to an end in the Class 3A Final 4 on Friday night at the Denver Coliseum.
The Thunderbolts, seeded No. 21, had surpassed wide expectations by pulling off three upsets en route to the Final 4 – two of which included wins over a No. 12 seed and a No. 5 seed for the tournament’s most shocking upset.
Manual’s tournament appearance ended a three-year postseason drought. The squad soon found themselves on a mission to earn the school’s 12th state title, having not won a championship or even reached the Final 4 since the 1991-92 campaign.
However, to reach those heights again, they had to get past another tough opponent in Alamosa, the No. 8 seed which notched 20 wins in the regular season.
The game got off to a shaky start for the Thunderbolts as they were at the mercy of Alamosa, who was playing with unmatched intensity and physicality. Led by senior Marco Garcia, the Mean Moose dominated the glass early and often as Garcia earned second-chance opportunities seemingly every time down on offense.
But even as Alamosa played the role of aggressor to being the contest, Manual continued to fight, finding itself only down 14-9 at the end of the first quarter. That relentless never-quit mentality by the Thunderbolts would pay off as they fought to get within two at half, down 26-24 thanks to a buzzer-beating layup.
Come third quarter, Manual clawed ahead for a 33-32 lead, its first of the game. But despite the valiant effort, the Thunderbolts for most the of the game were plagued by something they had no control over: chance.
For much of the night, the ball just didn’t bounce their way and down the stretch they were on the wrong end of loose balls, clutch plays, and 50-50 calls. Alamosa would go on to win 62-53.
“All I can say is they’ve been fighting trying to get this,” Manual coach Anson Ramiro said after the loss. “Day-in and day-out at practice they work hard and all I ask them to do is have fun, we have nothing to lose. That’s what they did.”
Despite coming up short, Manual finds itself back on the map in 3A basketball.