After being postponed because of weather, the second installment of the Century/Manchester Valley game carried extra juice, with team and individual milestones on the line for both teams.

With Manchester Valley guard Colton Enderle within reach of his 1,000th career point, Century coach George Wunder implemented “the Enderle Rules,” a plan designed to limit the guard’s scoring, secure the win and clinch the county title for the Knights.

“We wanted to make sure he had black jerseys in front of him at every turn,” Wunder said. “We wanted him to take some tough shots.”

The plan worked to near perfection as the Knights smothered the Mavericks en route to a 53-40 win Monday night. The win clinched this season’s outright county championship.

“I thought we were flying all over the place,” Nate Brown, who finished with a game-high 28 points, said. “Our defense sparked our offense.”

Century (15-4 overall) finishes county play 10-2, a game clear of Westminster.

How good was the Knights’ defense Monday? It started with a 13-2 first-quarter run that carried through the rest of the opening half, a time in which the Mavericks made just two shots from the floor.

Carter Simmen drew the primary assignment on Enderle and played his role nearly flawlessly, denying him the ball and sticking with him whenever he drove, forcing all of his points to come from the free-throw line.

“I thought he did a great job of staying in front of him, making it tough for him to get downhill,” Wunder said. “Then Gavyn [Hadwin] came in and did a great job.”

The rest of the team followed Simmen’s lead as Enderle found himself triple-teamed by a swarm of black jerseys every time he touched the ball. The Mavericks’ offense stalled. With fellow guard Trevor Hottenstein in foul trouble, the ball froze failed to move and shots failed to fall.

“We preach defense first,” Simmen said. “Our coaches did a good job of preparing us and coming up with a great game plan. All we had to do was go out and execute.”

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Many Mavericks fans grew frustrated. With Enderle bottled up, they begged his supporting cast to move the ball and take open shots, claiming several opportunities were left on the floor. Wunder disagreed.

“I didn’t think they had many opportunities to shoot. Our rotations were that quick and under control,” Wunder said. “Carter’s job on Colton will get the attention, but really it was a totally amazing team effort all around.”

The Mavericks found a rhythm in the third quarter as Hottenstein reentered the game and knocked down a 3-pointer. Jaxson Strohman followed with two 3s of his own before Enderle electrified the crowd with his first field goal late in the third, converting a 3-point play — one of the lone highlights of a disappointing night.

Enderle, the school’s all-time leading scorer, finished with 14 points. He now stands at 995 for his career. Even in a losing effort, he impressed.

“He’s really a phenomenal basketball player,” Wunder said. “He can score in so many ways.”

With the Mavericks getting as close as seven, Wunder turned to his own phenomenal guard: Brown. As both coaches pleaded with the referees, feeling their star guards were getting beat up by defenders, Brown fought through the contact, driving fearlessly to the rim for tough layups.

“I saw a lot of space out there,” Brown said. “My game isn’t all shooting. I can attack the rim and score, and that opens up my teammates for opportunities as well.”

Brown scored 17 points in the second half, putting the game away and leading the Knights to the county title.

“We’re at our best when he’s not playing passive,” Wunder said. “For the last month, he’s been anything but passive.”

With the win came a surprising sight for some. Normally cool, calm and collected on the sideline, Wunder yelled, pumped his fist and even chest-bumped a player after several big plays. A Brown steal and dunk, Alex Gonzalez and Braden Davis stepping in and taking key charges — Wunder fed off his players as the energy became contagious for the Knights.

“They were getting me fired up with how hard they played tonight,” he said. “I really loved how they bounced back from two tough losses last week.”

Even as Brown ran out the clock, not a single player in a black jersey sat down as they were all up clapping and screaming. Last season, the Knights shared the county title. This year, they stand alone atop the county standings.

“We came into this year with a chip on our shoulder,” Brown said. “We know we aren’t the biggest team, but we’re well coached and we play hard. We can do anything.”

Have a news tip? Contact Timothy Dashiell at tdashiell@baltsun.com, and x.com/dashielltimothy.

Century 53, Manchester Valley 40

C- Nate Brown 28, Even Williams 11, Brayden Zmarzly 5, Braden Davis 4, Carter Simmen 3, Gavyn Hadwin 2

MV- Colton Enderle 14, Trevor Hottenstein 10, Jaxson Strohman 10, Brady Strohman 2, Lane Saunders 2, Michael Hoy 2