Thompson Leads NCHS To 12-0 With Win Against Manual

NORMAL — Zach Thompson is usually most dangerous when catching the ball outside the arc and letting it fly.

The Normal Community High School senior guard showed Friday night he can do some damage inside the lane, too.

Thompson scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the third quarter as the Ironmen remained undefeated with a 57-45 victory over Peoria Manual in a Big 12 Conference basketball game.

NCHS, which is ranked No. 6 in the Class 4A state poll, improved to 12-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. The Ironmen expanded a 26-21 halftime lead to 45-29 after three quarters by beating Manual's pressure and getting easy shots inside, including three by Thompson. 

"It was good to come out strong in the second half and finish it off," said Thompson. "They were putting a lot of pressure on us. We wanted to make sure we were doing a lot of cutting and quick passes and making good decisions."

Manual (10-3, 2-2) forced eight first-half turnovers in staying close. But the Ironmen began to beat the pressure and their height advantage wore down the Rams, who started two sophomores, right after the break.

NCHS scored the first eight points of the third quarter to establish a 14-point lead. Manual never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

"In the second half, the pace was the way we wanted," said NCHS coach Dave Witzig. "We were able to get shots in the paint and get back and make it five-on-five for them on the other end, which is key for us to make them go against our (halfcourt) defense."

Thompson did make a pair of 3-pointers, but all three of his third-quarter baskets were inside 5 feet and two of those resulted in three-point plays.

"There were easy shots for Zach in the paint, of all things," said Witzig. "He did a real nice job of cutting and finding open spots. If they're going to pressure that much you have to make a few good passes, and we were able to do that."

Tyler Seibring scored all 12 of his points in the first half for NCHS. The Ironmen made 12 of 16 shots from the field in the second half to finish at 55 percent for the game (22 of 40). Alex Peacock added nine points and nine rebounds, while guard David Boyd contributed six points and eight boards.

Junior guard Devonte Keeton paced Manual with 13 points, while sophomore forward Romon Douglas-Watkins scored 12. The Rams shot 35 percent from the field (20 of 58) and were outrebounded, 29-19.

NCHS has a quick turnaround with a 1:45 p.m. game Saturday against East St. Louis at the Highland Shootout.

"We're definitely happy with tonight's win, but our main focus right now is East St. Louis in their home area," said Thompson. "We need to get ready and prepare for them and get ready to play a big game."