Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
MAN Ninth-ranked Man pulled away in the second and third quarters to beat regional rival Tolsia 58-45 on Wednesday night at the Man Memorial Fieldhouse for its fourth straight win.
Trey Ward led the Hillbillies with 19 points while Noah Frazier had 15 and Justin Mullins came off the bench for Man to knock down three 3-pointers and finish with nine points.
Mullins had two 3-pointers in a 16-2 Man run that gave the Hillbillies a 27-17 halftime lead, and they never trailed again, leading by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.
Ward scored 14 of his game-high 19 in the first three quarters including seven points in a 12-4 Man third quarter run that seemed to put the game on ice, however, Tolsia fought its way back and was down only eight, 51-43, after Brady Smith split a pair of free throws with 2:07 remaining.
Man overcame 11 second half turnovers, with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter, and poor free throw shooting in the final three minutes to hold on for its seventh win of the season. The Hillbillies were 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) in the final 3:06 and finished 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) for the game.
Twice the Hillbillies defense held the Rebels without a field goal for over six minutes of action.
The first incidence occurring in the second quarter when Evan Ball scored with 7:09 remaining before halftime. The next basket for the Rebels wouldn't occur until CJ Waller beat the first half with a basket with one second remaining ending a 7:08 field goal drought.
In the third quarter, Waller scored with 6:46 remaining, but the next field goal wouldn't come for another 6:02 when Dorian Reese scored with 0:44 remaining.
Turnovers were also a concern for the Rebels, who committed 23 turnovers, including 18 in the first three quarters.
Robert Evans scored 14 points to lead the Rebels, who fell to 2-10 on the season, and Reese added 12 points in the loss.
Tolsia led 11-9 after one quarter of play. Man tied it on a dunk by Moises Hicks before the Rebels scored four straight points to take a 15-11 lead on a pair of free throws from Evans with 5:52 to play before halftime.
Mullins knocked down his first of 3-pointers with 5:43 to play and Frazier followed with two free throws to give the Hillbillies the lead for good, 16-15, with 4:03 before halftime.
Man opened a 12-point lead following a Blake Hicks free throw with eight seconds remaining before Waller's basket with one second remaining cut it back to 10, 27-17.
Both teams are back in action Friday. Tolsia travels to Sherman, and Man hosts Richwood in a girls-boys doubleheader starting at 6 p.m.
Man 58, Tolsia 45
Tolsia Rebels (2-10)
Blankenship 1 1-1 3, Ball 1 0-0 2, Blackman 1 1-2 3, Waller 2 2-6 6, Evans 5 2-3 14,
Reese 6 0-2 12, Mollette 0 4-6 4, Smith 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 11-22 45.
Man Hillbillies (7-4)
Hicks, M. 2 3-3 7, Ward 7 3-4 19, Hicks, B. 0 2-5 2, Cantrell 2 1-2 5, Frazier 3 7-11 15, Wingler 0 1-2 1, Mullins 3 0-0 9. Totals: 17 17-28 58.
Tolsia 11 6 11 17- 45
Man 9 18 17 15- 58
3-point field goals_Tolsia 2 (Evans 2), Man 7 (Mullins 3, Frazier 2, Ward 2).
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