MORAN — From the start of both the boys and girls games Tuesday night, it was evident Marmaton Valley and St. Paul played two very different styles of basketball.
The Wildcats were more methodical in their approach on offense. Players stuck to the perimeter while constantly moving the ball until they saw an opening in the lane — waiting for their opponent to give up an easy shot.
The Indians, on the other hand, created their own opportunities. Players drive toward the basket, drawing defenders along the way, and then kick out to the open man on the wings.
On Tuesday, St. Paul’s method won out. Marmaton Valley lost in both the boys and girls matchups.
Coach Gavin Cole’s girls team lost, 57-35, before coach Dan Uhlrich’s boys team lost, 65-50.
In the girls game, the Wildcats managed to take the lead only once, which came in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Their brief 4-3 advantage soon dissipated as the Indians went on to knock down five three-pointers on the night.
The Wildcats didn’t have one successful shot from beyond the three-point arc.
And at the free-throw line, when Marmaton Valley had its chance to close the gap without wasting any time, Cole’s squad shot just 7-for-16.
A bright spot for the Wildcats was Mackenzie Tynon, who finished the game with a team-high 12 points off of six field goals. However, the senior also had four fouls so she had to spend some critical time on the bench.
Besides Tynon, no Marmaton Valley player scored more than 4 points. But for the Indians of St. Paul, no player had fewer than 4 points and four players scored 8 or more.
Despite playing with a double-digit disadvantage for the majority of the contest, the Wildcats never let up in terms of effort. Until the final buzzer, Cole had his players fighting for loose balls and practicing the offense with diligence.
In the boys game, Marmaton Valley wasn’t as fortunate as the girls because they never once saw the scoreboard shift in its favor. From start to finish, St. Paul had the advantage.
The disparities between the two teams were most evident in their offenses. Although each squad had roughly the same number of two-point field goals ( St. Paul had 15 while Marmaton Valley had 13), the Indians were far-and-away the better team from the perimeter.
St. Paul knocked down nine three-point shots compared to Marmaton Valley’s one, which came in the closing minutes of the contest.
The Indians’ method of driving the lane and kicking out to the open man worked on seemingly every possession. The Wildcats simply couldn’t keep up with their opponent’s quickness on offense.
On offense, Marmaton Valley was mostly muted for the majority of the first half until Brady Newman stepped up to become the squad’s go-to scorer.
Not only did the senior sink a team-high five field goals, he also used his 6-foot-3 stature to draw fouls in the lane and get to the free-throw line. And he took advantage at the charity stripe.
Newman sunk all 13 of his free throws, making more than the rest of the Wildcats combined. He finished the game with a game-high 23 points.
However, Newman was Uhlrich’s only player to reach double-digits in terms of scoring. Justice Pugh was close with 8 points, but the effort was still not enough in the 15-point loss.
Marmaton Valley plays Pleasanton in its next game on Friday night.
Marmaton Valley (girls)
Stevenson 2-0-2-4
Storrer 2-0-1-4
Drake 1-2-2-4
Newman 0-3-1-3
M. Brooks 1-0-2-2
Lutz 1-0-1-2
S. Brooks 1-2-1-4
Tynon 6-0-4-12
Ensiminger 0-0-1-0
TOTAL 14-7-13-35
Marmaton Valley (boys)
Pugh 3-2-3-8
Jo. Wise 0-1-3-1
Boyd 1/1-0-2-5
Hall 1-1-1-3
Wilson 0-3-4-3
Newman 5-13-2-23
Adams 3-1-1-7
