Gooooooooood Evening, and Welcome to the…VAAALLLEEYYYY!!!!!!!
Roger Spurgeon’s dulcet tones welcomed the Hawk faithful back to the Varsity Gym for the 2010-11 Home opener against the Monclova Christian Academy Thunder. The home faithful were treated to their first game in the newly painted Varsity Gym – bright white with a great lookin’ Hawk logo on the wall. The place has never looked better. Thanks again to the Boosters for a wonderful job. Thanks also to the roughly 50 students there tonight – mostly all High Schoolers.
In a greater sense though, we were treated to a glimpse of coaching strategy last evening. Coach Robinson collected win Number 494 last evening. A stretch in the second quarter illustrated how he’s gotten there.
Now in his third year at MV, Coach R and his staff have molded a group of players into his system. The primary objectives for the evening would be to stop Monclova forward Kenny N’Douba (No. 10), a 6’ 6” forward and one of the top five athletes the Hawks will face all year. If left to his game, Kenny would draw many fouls from the front line defenders. Secondarily, the Thunder’s shooting guard Zach Black (#20) would need attention during the evening.
Starting five – Dave Brown (’13), Rick Deichert (’12), Jared Sturt (’12), Dixon Stoddard (’12) and Jonathan Krueger (’12)
Game Summary
The Hawks made a successful home debut tonight, muffling the Monclova Christian Academy Thunder 50-39. Team defense was the story of the evening as MV’s stifling man-to-man pressure grabbed 12 steals from the visitors.
Rick Deichert scored 17 for the home team, Jonathan Krueger hit for 14 and Dave Brown added 9 to lead the Hawks. Maumee Valley hit eight out of ten free throws on the evening. MCA forward Kenny N’Douba led all scorers with 26 points.
First Quarter – MV 14 – MCA 8
As per usual, the teams started out in their respective motion offenses looking for openings. MV struck first, Jonathan intercepting a pass near the sideline, finding Dave to start the break, and coming back to take a pass from Dave for the basket + foul on the shot. MV switched to a man press, which MCA solved fairly easily. The Thunder countered with a 2-3 zone.
MV found success against the zone with Rick hitting a three from the corner. Up-and-down court play was halted at the 5:08 mark with a technical foul against an MCA player, and Jonathan converted both shots. Rick came back with a floater in the lane and the Hawks were off to a lead after the first eight minutes.
Jared and Dixon shared defensive duties on N’Douba throughout the game, with Rick in his usual position opposite the Thunder’s shooting guard. Dave and Rick gave the Monclova guards fits, intercepting several passes and forcing misfires on passes into the interior.
Second Quarter – MV 12 – MCA 6
Starting the quarter, Dave, Rick, Dixon, Julius Turner and Jonathan
Both teams began the quarter in man defense. MV took advantage. Jon hit a two over his defender, Julius drove the baseline for another two and MCA called time at 5:29 with the score MV 22 – Thunder 10. Play continued back and forth until about the 3:30 mark.
At this point, MV was up by 12 with the ball. Jared, who had guarded Kenny N’Douba well had one foul. Monclova was hunkered down in its zone inside the three point arc.
And so we came to the Play of the Game – and welcome to this episode of Robo-ball (so named for Coach Robinson). For the next 1:20, the Hawks stayed outside at the top of the key; Rick and Dave simply passing the ball back and forth. And why not? With a 12 point lead and half time in sight, why risk getting either of your post defenders another foul against a tough opponent. It was all the benefits of a time-out with the clock running. Force the opponent to play you.
Even after the Thunder were pulled out of their defensive crouch, the Hawks put on a ball handling display and would not allow Monclova near the ball until MV took a shot at the 50 second mark. As Exhibit A, I present this picture of the MV guards during this stretch:
Dave and Rick to the Thunder: “No, you can’t have the ball back until we say so.”
Those in attendance were awarded 1:40 of continuing education credit in basketball coaching.
The teams traded baskets near the end of the half, Davey closing things out with a layup near the buzzer. Jared and Dixon ended the half with 1 foul each and the Hawks were in control. At intermission, it was MV 26 – MCA 14.
Third Quarter – MV 13 – MCA 8
Starting the quarter – Dave, Rick, Jared, Dixon, Jonathan
Monclova came out of the locker room determined to work the ball into its forwards, but with 8 fouls to give between Jared and Dixon, the Hawks defended aggressively and well. MV was working the high post offense with success; the highlight was another Jared pass to an unguarded Dave Brown for a 3. Monclova tried to keep up with the Hawks, but did not fare well in the running game. Near the end of the third quarter Rick came out of the game for the first time this season for Parker Bayer.
The visitors’ play of the game occurred late in the third, when N’Douba stole the ball at the top of the key and finished the breakaway with a highlight reel dunk. If cheering counted toward points, the Thunder would have pulled ahead at that moment. Alas for our guests, no style points were awarded and the Hawks remained up by 17.
Three quarters, three times the opponent is held to under 10 points. As the teams rounded the three quarter pole, it was Hawks 39 – Thunder 22.
Fourth Quarter MCA 17 – MV 11
Starting the quarter - David, Parker, Julius, Jared, Dixon
MCA pressed much of the fourth quarter and forced a few turnovers, but for the most part the Hawks played even. Rick and David rotated in and out during the quarter with Parker and Nick Frasco.
There were two offensive highlights of the quarter. The first was a strong move by Jared who muscled his way into the block for a two pointer with 6:15 to play. Then with 2:11 left, Jonathan hustled to get his own rebound on the second of two free throws and scored a basket for a rare reverse three pointer.
At the 1:53 mark, Parker, Daniel Brandon and Omar Hazimah entered the game, and the Hawks coasted to victory.
Final Game Thoughts
Tonight the fans were treated to an opening season win and a chance to learn a little more about basketball. Fundamentals bear out; good defense and ball handling make a big difference.
In the event the Hawks are able to execute the hold strategy in later games, I’d encourage the student fan base to cheer wildly. When this happens, you are watching us in the process of winning.
Scoring
Rick had a regular-season career high 17 points, followed by Jonathan with 14 (maybe also a career high), Dave with 9, Jared 6, Julius and Dixon each with 2. Kenny N’Douba led all scorers with 26 points, and guard Zach Black had 5 on the evening.
A Special Hawkblog Welcome to..
Our worthy opponents Ottawa Hills and Toledo Christian who were scouting at the game last night. TC’s team members apparently were offered community service hours (just kidding) for coming to the game as it looked like they had a full bench at the Valley.
Next up
The Hawks are off until next week, when two games should both provide a playoff atmosphere. On Tuesday December 14, MV will host Toledo Christian, and then travel to Ottawa Hills Friday the 17th to visit the Green Bears. I have been told one of those games will be on BCSN, so let’s have a MV big turnout.
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