Maumee Valley played what may have been the best three quarters of basketball in recent history Saturday evening, as they rolled up a 39 point lead at Emmanuel Christian. The Hawks soared to a 40 point win, 62-22.
Not that the wind-up was bad either. Coach Josh Arthur emptied his bench in the fourth quarter and several players gained valuable varsity floor time. Among those would be a JV player, given the famous number 44 for the game, making his Hawks debut.
Welcome Jamaal McGee!! Many happy returns, points, assists, etc.
Anyway, thinking about the first sentence above prompted your Hawkblogger to consider some other famous starts in History.
Some things start out fine and don't end so well - take the Roman Empire for example:
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| Things were going great until they started appointing horses to the Senate. Insert US Senate joke.....here. |
Or the career of one George A. Custer
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| I shoudda bought that livery stable in Monroe, Michigan |
Pretty much any Cleveland Indians or Detroit Lions Season looks promising early on...
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| Yeah, whatever.... |
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| We lost this many games in a row to end the season...and yes, we're out of the playoffs again. |
But some things start OK and only get better:
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| They didn't even charge for baggage then. |
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| What do you mean I can't buy the Smead Building? |
On to the game.
Starters - Marcus Knabbs ('14), Lucas Isaza ('15), Thad Woodard ('14), Nick Towns ('15), Rashad Woodley ('14)
First Quarter - MV 17 - EC 5
It took the Hawks about a minute and a half to get their rhythm, as EC's half court trap forced Marcus Knabbs into two early fouls. But those would be the only tense moments for MV on the night. Emmanuel held a 3-2 lead on the strength of three Adam Regnier free throws, and kept it within one point at 6-5 about 3:30 into the game. Bur the onslaught began with this Solomon Collins basket....
And the Hawks found a few weaknesses in their host's game. Mamuee Valley's pressure defense transformed the game quickly, creating at six turnovers in the next 4:30. Things were clicking on the offensive side of the ball illustrated by a pair of three pointers caught on video.
Here's Keith McClure...
And Zain Bedi to end the quarter....
Second Quarter - MV 22 - EC 6
The Warriors started the quarter right with an Adam Regnier old fashioned three pointer, but as can be deduced from the above subhead, that would account for 50% of their output. Maumee Valley steamrolled to a 22-3 run the rest of the quarter. MV scored in a variety of ways
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| It was a veritable plethora of roundball superiority |
- here running their offence - see this sequence leading to a foul on Eurosteppin' Lucas Isaza
Two points for Thad Woodard on a steal you can see coming 1.60934 kilometers away:
The Hawks deny EC the ball in bounds, then Zain Bedi hits a looong two pointer like it was a layup
Coach Dave Regnier was not pleased with his team's play during this stretch and called two time outs during the MV roll to keep his Warrior's collective head in the game.
But the points just kept on coming. Here's Rashad Woodley finishing a fast break:
The halftime score was 39-11.
Lost in this summary is the point that Emmanuel Christian is not a bad team. They feature an experienced point guard and a 6' 5" post player. This is a season of big men in the TAAC.
That notwithstanding, MV's senior-led (Thad Woodard, Marcus Knabbs, Solomon Collins Rashad Woodley and Danny Hazimah) swarming defense continues to improve. The 9-15 man lineup allows for constant pressure the entire game. This weighs heavily on the opposing lineup, especially if that opponent's bench is not deep.
Such is often the case in Division IV basketball. Therefore Coach Arthur is molding a large group of athletes into an intimidating team. This group conjures memories of the deep Toledo Christian and Central Catholic teams faced by MV over the last seven years. One wave comes in at full speed, with another group available right behind them. The primary goal of this style of play is to instill doubt in the opponent's mind. MV has done this in increasing fashion the last four weeks.
Half time - EC concession stand 2 - MV 0
In the worst stretch of the evening, Nick Frasco '12 and Caleb Willhight '13 clang iron from the free throw line, losing all chance of free popcorn or sno-conage.
Fortunately their fashion sense ranks them in everyone's top ten list. Unfortunately they missed their chance at the TAAC's best concession stand.
Third Quarter - MV 14 - EC 3
It was deja' vu all over again in the third quarter. Maumee Valley forced more turnovers and unforced errors than the Warriors' had points. The third quarter video highlights feature another Thad Woodard steal and cleanup hoop:
...and here's MV spreading the 2-3 zone to perfection. Truth Foreman's trey ended the third quarter scoring.
After 24 minutes of elapsed time, Maumee Valley was on top of their hosts by a 53-14 count.
Fourth Quarter - MV 9 - EC 8
The highlight of the fourth quarter was the varsity debut of Juwaan McGee '16. Juwaan entered at the 6:55 mark, right here
and entered the scoring roll with two points on a fast break opportunity, Truth continued to singe the nets...
Zain scored yet again, this time from close range
the teams played out the last frame fairly evenly. Coach Arthur played a long bench this evening, with all 14 Hawks seeing action.
Scoring
Truth Foreman - 6
Danny Hazimah - 2
Marcus Knabbs - 1
Zain Bedi - 7
Keith McClure - 6
Lucas Isaza - 7
Nick Towns - 6
Thad Woodard - 6
Solomon Collins - 9
Rashad Woodley - 10
Juwaan McGee - 2
Final thoughts
Here's hoping the Hawks keep getting better and better. A team which was a pre-season selection to finish in the bottom half of the TAAC is currently tied for first place.
Some things get better with age
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| Thanks Leonardo. |
some don't
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| Ottawa Hills HS Principal, circa 1973 |
How will this great 2013-4 MVCDS start roll on? The team has made a few believers and the next few weeks will offer a chance to convince many more. Go Hawks!
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