Manley, Hillmen stroll past Vikings
January 27, 2023
The Hillmen traveled down to Roseville for a league clash against the Oakmont Vikings for a momentum boosting game.
The Foothill Valley League is one of the strongest leagues in the third division of the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Hillmen entered the match 2-2 in league, and coming off a heartbreaking loss to the West Park Panthers last week, the Hillmen were looking to turn the page, and junior guard Ben Manley rose to the occasion.
“He [Manley] does a great job, and is taking nice shots with rhythm,” said head coach Mark Lee. Manley certainly had no problems finding his groove tonight, finishing with 28 points with six made three pointers on eight attempts.
“My teammates helped me get open shots and I knocked them down… it was great to get the win tonight,” said Manley, who also found easy buckets on the fastbreak. “ That’s the game plan, play quick and get up and down the floor as many times as possible.” Manley stated.
The Hillmen were able to wear down the Vikings in transition, who hold a seven man roster. “It gets us some easy buckets, they only have seven guys so it wore them out a little bit,” Lee stated. Placer scored 38 field goals on 28 assists. “They really get along well, they respect each other and they share the ball.”
Placer now shifts its focus to a rematch vs Ponderosa, who is coming off a big win vs Nevada Union, and more importantly, the reigning FVL champions. Ponderosa took game 1 in a back and forth 66-62 game at the Earl Crabbe Gym.
Wednesday’s win vs Oakmont gave some valued entity to the Hillmen. “It gave us a chance to rest a lot of people… everybody got involved,” said Lee. The Hillmen also captured some much needed momentum. “It definitely gives us a lot of confidence…” Manley said. “We’ve got a little chip on our shoulder, so we are looking forward to this game.”
Ponderosa High School is the place to be Friday night for the highly anticipated rematch of league rivals.
