Manchester Central boys basketball blows past Bedford

BEDFORD – The Manchester Central High School boys basketball team was wary going into Thursday night’s game against Bedford.

The Little Green hadn’t played well against the Bulldogs in their short history against each other, and coach Doc Wheeler knew Bedford was just a couple of possessions away from having a much better record than it has.

But after falling behind early, Central’s offense came alive and the defense kept Bedford in check on the way to a 73-48 win over the Bulldogs. It was the Little Green’s 31st consecutive win in Division I play and helped it improve to 9-0.

“We were scared to death coming into this game,” Wheeler said. “You’re talking about a 6-4 team that has lost by one (point), one and two. They’re three possessions from being 9-1. This is a place we’ve struggled. Two years ago, they beat us, and last year, they probably should have beat us.”

Central had little trouble this time, as Joey Martin and Oumaru Kante each led the way with 17 points and Evan MacDonald and Jaylen Leroy each had 15 points. MacDonald scored all of his points on 3-pointers, making five of Central’s nine baskets from behind the arc.

Ryan Hughes led Bedford (6-5) with 21 points, including six 3-pointers, but no one else was in double figures for the Bulldogs. Joshua Bauer added eight points for Bedford.

“Bedford is really well coached and they have great athletes,” Wheeler said. “We were fortunate that a couple of them couldn’t get going.”

The Bulldogs got out to a 5-0 lead early, but Central responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead. The Bulldogs kept it close for the rest of the first quarter, trailing 14-11 going into the second, but after a layup by Colby Gendron cut Central’s lead to 21-15, the Little Green closed the half on a 16-6 run.

Central then outscored Bedford 16-7 in the third quarter to lead 53-28 after three.

“We executed a little bit better,” Wheeler said. “At the start of the game, we didn’t respond well to them pressuring us. We shot the ball way to quick. If you look at us, we’re not physically imposing. We’ve got to be smart, we’ve got to spread them out and then we can use our quickness a little bit. If we try to use our quickness against five guys who are set up, we’re not going to get great looks.”

The win was another step in the right direction for Central, one of several that the Little Green have taken over the last couple of weeks.

“The thing with this group, either earned or not earned, they expect to win when they step on the court,” Wheeler said. “They’re level as play has not been as consistent as we’d like. They’re level of effort has not been as consistent as we’d like. We’re addressing it with them and they’re responding. It’s getting a little bit better and a little bit better.”