Manning up: Ben Manning coming back strong from injury and helps South boys defeat Sullivan County

After breaking his hip last fall, Ben Manning seriously doubted whether he would be playing basketball come January. Maybe that is why he is so cool now whenever the pressure is cranked up.

Manning returned earlier this month and South Williamsport’s senior point guard continues settling back into his leadership role. How valuable he is came shining through when visiting Sullivan County started roaring back during the third quarter of Tuesday’s key Mid-Penn game.

The Griffins trailed by 19 early in the third quarter but three quick 3-pointers pulled it within 29-15. Just as quick, Manning reversed the momentum, setting up three straight scoring sequences. Sullivan never seriously threatened again as South won, 59-41. Manning was not among South’s three double-digit scorers, but he was as vital as any player on the court, dealing seven assists, making four steals and helping South (7-7, 5-2) beat a Mid-Penn East co-leader for the second time in four nights.

“I was out for a while. I was really scared but took some time off, had physical therapy and started feeling better,” Manning said. “I told myself before that even if the injury was still bothering me, I feel like I still would have come back and played. It’s my last year; I have to make the most of it.”

He sure did Tuesday.

This was an outstanding team effort with every Mountie making a nice impact. Marquan Harris (14 points, 14 rebounds) produced a second straight double-double, Aaron Akers (14 points, 8 rebounds) nearly recorded one and Lee Habalar produced 13 points with four assists. Alex Neidig made key plays on both ends, while Dylan Scheller and Radley Knapp shined off the bench.

Still, Manning was the glue holding everything together. He consistently made the right decisions at the right times, settled South when things started falling out of place and helped fuel the defense with four steals.

“I don’t usually score a lot of points, so I try to get as many assists and steals as I can to help us win,” Manning said. “I love being in that role. I feel I can calm everything down and call out plays and I like doing that.”

“That’s been the big factor missing with us has been his calmness, his leadership and his experience,” South coach Joe Simon said. “Ben has that knack for staying calm and has that decision making that we really need. When things get a little scrambled, he can be that calming voice to get us back a little bit.”

After Sullivan closed within 14, Manning sprinted downcourt and found a cutting Scheller for a basket. On the ensuing possession, he located Neidig who was fouled and made both free throws. Next, he connected with Habalar for a layup and in a flash, South had re-established control. Manning’s fourth steal led to a kickout pass to Habalar who then hit Neidig for a drive as South went ahead by 18.

Early in the fourth quarter, Manning helped South land the knockout blow. He followed his shot after a miss, grabbed the rebound and his assist to Habalar gave South its biggest lead, 48-27. The soccer injury now is a distant memory and Manning is doing all he can to produce good memories moving forward.

“I’m having a lot more fun,” Manning said. “After sitting around for so long, it’s so nice to be out here playing basketball again.”

Manning is one of multiple players who has missed time with injuries, but now the Mounties are whole again and starting to mesh. Coming off a thrilling last-second win against Northwest Saturday, South picked up where it left off and put on a defensive clinic. Sullivan (8-6, 5-2) is tied for first in the Mid-Penn East and was six nights removed from winning at Muncy but had no answers for South’s zone or full-court press defenses.

The Mounties allowed just three first-half field goals, forced six second quarter turnovers and led 23-6 at halftime. That South was ahead at the half was not stunning, but holding a dangerous opponent to that number of points certainly was. Sullivan eventually heated up in the second half, but South’s first-half relentless defense ultimately made the biggest difference.

“We usually struggle starting the first quarter. We gave the starters a 2 1/2-3-minute window to get things going. Fortunately, they did, and they really propelled us into the second half, especially when they started to come back,” Simon said. “That lead we built early on was the buffer. We got sped up a little bit and made some turnovers, but we had enough built up there, that it didn’t really come back to haunt us.”

Defense helped feed the offense as well, and South scored 36 second-half points. Just as important, this was the second straight game in which three different players scored at least 13 points. Harris had his way inside, Akers excelled in transition and around the basket and Habalar came alive in the second half.

Scheller and Knapp also provided big lifts. Scheller often is brought into to jump start the defense but turned offensive and scored eight points. That included the first four in the second quarter when South went ahead 13-2 and really started imposing its will. Knapp was in the middle of that strong start and pulled down six rebounds.

“I feel like we’re really starting to jell as a team. We have our rotations down and tonight was great,” Simon said. “We had really good minutes from our guys coming off the bench and Dylan scoring those points was big. We’re heading in the right direction.”

Riley King did all he could to point the direction upward for Sullivan throughout the second half and continued his strong senior year. King scored 13 points and made eight steals, including seven in the second half. Ben Carpenter scored a team-high 15 points and Connor Smithkors grabbed eight rebounds.

Carpenter scored 10 third quarter points and his 3-pointer made it 29-15. That had Sullivan feeling like it could pull off a third double-digit comeback this season after doing so against Troy and Wyalusing. But then Manning then went into overdrive and South resettled, while offering another reminder about why it remains a dangerous team in a wide-open District 4 Class AA field.

“At the beginning of the season we had a lot of players out with injuries but now I feel like we’re pretty set,” Manning said “I feel like we’re all starting to come together.”

SULLIVAN (41)

Trey Higley 3 0-0 6, Riley King 5 1-2 13, Landon Baldwin 2 1-2 5, Ben Carpenter 6 2-2 15, Connor Smithkors 1 0-0 2, Derrick Finnegan 0 0-0 0, Maddox Bahr 0 0-0 0, Tucker Blasi 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-6 41.

SOUTH

Lee Habalar 4 5-6 13, Marquan Harris 6 2-3 14, Ben Manning 2 1-2 5, Alex Neidig 1 3-4 5, Aaron Akers 7 0-4 14, Caden Harris 0 0-0 0, Radley Knapp 0 0-0 0, Dylan Scheller 4 0-0 8. Totals 24 11-19 59.

Sullivan 2 4 19 16-41

South 9 14 18 18-59

3-pointers: Sullivan 3 (King 2, Carpenter).

Records: South 7-7, 5-2 Mid-Penn. Sullivan 8-6, 5-2.