Manning Puts Together Impressive Season For Wolves

Although Wolf Point’s boys’ basketball season didn’t end as well as was hoped for, the play of senior Antone Manning was certainly impressive.

Manning scored 25 points and 26 points in the Wolves’ final two contests which were close tournament losses against top-seeded Malta and Harlem.

“I felt that Antone down the stretch had a nice tournament from my viewing,” Wolf Point’s activities director Cody Larson said. “Down the stretch, he did all the little things right that you want to see from a basketball player.”

Manning is pleased with his improvement throughout the season.

“I kind of stood out and became a leader,” Manning said. “I taught the younger kids how to play their roles.”

He also encouraged the younger players to be more aggressive with the basketball.

Offensively, Manning said he looked for his shot more than in the past. He said that he used to not use his dribble enough.

“This year, I just played as I could play,” Manning said. “I played my game.”

Despite his high point totals in the final two contests, he felt like more scoring opportunities were available for him.

“Sometimes, I didn’t want to shoot the ball. I didn’t want to be a ball hog,” he said.

He is hopeful to continue his basketball career in college. He mentioned MSU Billings as a possibility.

Overall, he was satisfied with his senior season for the Wolves.

“Taking into consideration how we were at the beginning compared to the end, we improved a lot,” Manning said. “The younger kids stepped up a lot.” He feels the Wolves will have strong campaigns in the near future.

“In the next year or two, Wolf Point will be one of the top dogs in the conference,” Manning said.