2013-4 Season Chapter Seven - Taming Richard Parker - Maumee Valley 63 - North Baltimore 46 - Game Story

December 27, 2013 - at North Baltimore

In Yann Martel's/Ang Lee's wonderful novel/movie Life of Pi, the title character ends up marooned in a lifeboat with a tiger named Richard Parker.  The lost at sea plot segment shows Pi's efforts to coexist with one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. To survive, Pi must use his wits, respond to adversity and impose his will on the Tiger.

Maumee Valley took the 45 minute trip south to visit North Baltimore's one year-old High School complex.  They have a wonderful gym with some throwback features such as 'The Jungle' (a recessed band stand) and banners preserved from their old gym honoring State Champions as far back as 1925.  Although not quite elegant (lots of optic orange will do that to a room) it's a fine space, similar to the new gyms at Fayette, New Riegel, Edon and Lakota.  Property taxes are a school district's best friend.

Now while there was nobody on the North Baltimore lineup named Parker, the Hawks would still face a stern test tonight in this facility in the North Baltimore Tigers.

Hey, I thought this was gonna be an easy road win.

Friday's two hour game sequence clearly paralleled the movie.  MV would initially be pushed around by the Tiger(s), but would focus on their survival and wear down their hosts on the way to a seventeen point victory.

Starters - Marcus Knabbs ('14), Lucas Isaza ('15), Thad Woodard ('14), Nick Towns ('15), Rashad Woodley ('14)

First Quarter - NB 14 - MV 12

It was a sight not yet seen thus far this year as 6' 6" Sophomore(!) Chad Wright stepped into the circle, equal in height to Rashad Woodley, and won the opening tip.  Maumee Valley started in man-to-man defense.

Good defensive posture is essential.

In a portent, North Baltimore's Levi Newcomer was called for a quick player control foul.  Foul trouble would hinder the Tigers throughout the night, forcing them into a defensive shell.

Lucas Isaza opened the scoring for MV with two points and the Hawks opened up pressing on defense.  North Baltimore's senior swing man Jacob Frost answered back with a three.  Nick Towns scored for the Hawks from close range.  After a travel call against the Tigers, Nick hit this two pointer off a Thad Woodard feed...



... to extend the lead to 6-3.  Tyler Trumbull answered back with two, then Frost hit his second trey to put NB back on top 8-6.  Nick maintained his single-handed effort to keep MV in the game with a right-hand base line hook shot.

Juat another Nick Towns wannabe.  At least as far as the haircut is concerned.

Newcomer hit a free throw, then after several misses by both teams Nick Towns scored his eighth point of the quarter assisted by an alert Rashad Woodley...



After more cold shooting by all ten guys on the floor, each team's big guys - Wright and Woodley - exchanged baskets.  Gabe De Los Reys closed out the quarter with a three pointer putting the home team ahead by two.

It was a tight ballgame evidenced by eight lead changes in the quarter.

Yo, these guys are tough.

Second Quarter - MV 18 - NB 16

The Hawks ran their motion offence against the Tigers' 2-3 zone but couldn't convert.  NB's Sean Watson beat the visitors' press for two, then scored again on an and-one.  The home crowd was excited about their team's 19-12 lead at the 6:39 mark.  It would be their high point for the evening.

The Hawks needed to crawl back into the boat.

Keith McClure took the first step on the comeback trail with a sorely needed three pointer, answered in-kind by De Los Reys.  Solomon Collins scored the next three in the old-school fashion, driving down the middle for two and scoring on the bonus.  NB's Trumbull hit a two to back the Tigers lead up to five points.

MV's press began to pay dividends, with Solomon and Thad Woodard scoring the next five points to tie the game at 22 all.  Coach John Eichar sensed his team needed to calm down and took a time out at the half way point in the quarter.  Both teams went cold for a spell, broken by De Los Reys' two free throws.

Rashad tied the game again with a putback off a missed shot.  Jacob Frost said 'so what' and made the Tigers' fifth three pointer to take back the lead then Sean Watson made a free throw to get it back to four.  Marcus Knabbs was fouled going to the hole and made the pair then Danny Hazimah pulled MV to within one with a foul shot.  The Hawks took a 30-28 lead with another Keith McClure three pointer and NB's Wright scored two to knot up the score 30-30 at the half.

The Hawks had taken North Baltimore's best shot of the night and fought back to even.  Half of the home team's points came on three pointers.  MV would be determined to stop that in the second half.

Third Quarter - MV 15 - NB 10

North Baltimore stayed in their 2-3 zone, as three of their starters had three fouls.

North Baltimore's back defensive line.  The guy on the right tended to over rotate..

The Tigers started aggressively on offense with Chad Wright and Levi Newcomer scoring four quick points.  MV bounced back, with leadership from Nick Towns and Thad Woodard, who stole the ball and scored on a breakaway, enhanced by a Newcomer foul - which Thad converted.  Jacob Frost hit a three, and MV answered with a basket.   It would be NB's last three ball of the evening.

Following a Tiger free throw, Danny Hazimah found a seam in the zone to give MV its first lead of the half...



...but Wright scored again to take it back.  Both teams turned the ball over and at 3:32 Josh Arthur called time out to set up another wave of pressure defense.

Maumee Valley's press finally knocked the Tigers for a loop.  Solomon and Thad scored on consecutive NB turnovers.  The Tigers were unable to bring the ball in bounds and MV regained possession.  The Hawks now patiently worked against the zone, ultimately getting the ball in deep where Rashad Woodley was fouled...



He made both shots.  The Hawks ended the quarter on a 6-0 run and held a five point lead, their largest of the evening to date.

Fourth Quarter - MV 18 - NB 6

MV opened with ball to no avail, but Thad cleaned a Tiger forward's clock with a steal up top, which he converted into three points on the and-one.  MV forced another turnover.  Faced with an eight point deficit and a ravenous Hawks defense, Coach Eichar called an early time-out to avoid a full blown collapse.

Coach Arthur now went back to MV basics and ran 35 seconds off the clock.  This forced the Tigers out of their zone, and now it was MV taking the time out to set up a counter.  They did so, in the form of this Solomon Collins pull-up 15 footer...



...the lead was double digits.  Lane Bishop ended the Hawks' 10-0 run with a basket and foul shot.  Then Chad Wright thrilled the home crowd with a mean block, but Solomon came up with the ball and drew a foul, making one of two.

Solomon would be this evening's fourth quarter hero.  He was again fouled and made the pair, upping Maumee Valley's lead to ten.  Solomon kept up the heat, stealing an in-bounds pass and rambling coast to coast for this two pointer...



MV struck again with a Woodard steal and Lucas Isaza basket and with 3:30 left.  Their lead was stretched to 14, and the smell of victory was in the air.

Fortunately there was no smell of rotting fish.

The teams traded baskets, including this Isaza reverse layup...



MV finished with scores from Thad and Rashad, and tripled their opponents score in the fourth quarter.  Solomon would lead the Hawks in scoring this night with 16, seven of which came during the fourth quarter.

Scoring:

Danny Hazimah - 3
Marcus Knabbs - 2
Keith McClure - 6
Lucas Isaza - 6
Nick Towns - 10
Thad Woodard - 14
Solomon Collins - 16
Rashad Woodley - 6

Afterthoughts-

You will forgive your Hawkblogger for sounding repetitive, but the MV formula for victory tonight was again:

• a deep rotation, providing MV with more fouls to give, and less individual foul trouble
• a no-star lineup - any and all Hawks contribute at any given time
• new players ready to step up on offense - actually two this night with Nick Towns early and Solomon Collins late
• never ending pressure which stresses opponents to a breaking point.

Wore you out tonight, Richard Parker.

North Baltimore has an improving squad with an up-tempo style of play.  The Tigers can only get better.  They have an excellent chance at a winning record in MAL play and could do some playoff damage.  Chad Wright has two more years to improve on a solid base and could attract some college recruiting attention.  Better times are ahead for the Tigers.

Finally, without giving the story away, Life of Pi reflects on how we mentally filter life compared with its sometimes harsh reality.  The Hawks are now 6-1 and have a few more games before the grinding three game Ottawa Hills/Toledo Christian/Gibsonburg stretch.  Those three games will go far to determine how high the reality plane lies for these 2013-4 Hawks.

Happy New Year from your Hawkblog.

JV action - NB 32 - MV 28

The Hawk JVs comeback fell just short, and they dropped a four point decision Friday December 27 to North Baltimore.  Here are your video highlights.

Juwaan McGee for three



Hawks on defense



Jeremy Anderson scores on this Magic Johnson-esque hook shot.



Juwaan cleans up a holiday leftover.

Unofficial stats through 2013-14 Game 7

Maumee Valley 63 - (at) North Baltimore 46 - Insightful Internet Commentary

Friday December 27, 2013 - North Baltimore

MV ran its record to 6-1 with a 63-46 victory over the North Baltimore Tigers Friday night.  The game was a back and forth affair through the first half with the teams tied at 30.  The Hawks clamped down in the second half and wore down their hosts.

But why not let Nick Towns, Solomon Collins, Jeremy Anderson and Thad Woodard tell the rest of the story?




Why not indeed?

North Baltimore Preview

MV travels to southern Wood County this evening to take on the North Baltimore Tigers for an out-of-conference holiday test.

North Baltimore is 3-4 on the young season, most recently defeating TAAC member Northwood 58-31. The Hawks defeated the Rangers 67-15 at home on December 10.

The Tigers return seven lettermen, including 6' 2" guard Jacob Frost.  The Tigers can go big in the front court if they so choose with sophomores 6' 5" Chad Wright and 6' 4" Dereck McMahon.

The normally elucidating Midwest Athletic League statistics are not currently available.  But one astounding statistic can be found on the Elmwood basketball site run by those NW Ohio basketball stalwarts at www.davey1.com.  The Tigers were an astounding 42-64 from the free throw line against the Elmwood Royals in their November 30 season opener at NB.

How you get to the stripe 64 times in one game, other than playing against the MVCDS alumni?

See you at the game.

Arcadia game rescheduled for Friday January 3, 2014

Game is at MV.  See you there.

Running the back door cut

Then...



and now.



The more things change...

2013-4 Season Chapter Six - Jackets sing the Blues - Maumee Valley 57 - New Riegel 32 Game Story

December 17, 2013 at New Riegel HS

The New Riegel Blue Jackets are a historical power in the soon to be defunct Midland Athletic League.  New Riegel won at least a share of nine boys basketball titles in a twelve team league over the MAL's 28 year history.  The Jackets reached the sectional semi-final in 2011-12, when they lost to Toledo Christian.  In fact, the Jackets play a similar tough-nosed style to the Eagles.  But New Riegel is rebuilding after two strong seasons and it was not to be this evening for the home team.

As the local paper's headline put it "Jackets can't handle the Truth' - Foreman that is, who scored 15 along with Thad Woodard's 16 on the night.  If it was a two against five game, the Hawks would have come up one point short.  Alas for the hosts, Maumee Valley brought the rest of its deep rotation along on the bus.  Maumee Valley used the press to great effect this evening on the way to defeating the New Riegel Blue Jackets 57-32 on a wintery Tuesday evening.

Starters - Marcus Knabbs ('14), Lucas Isaza ('15), Thad Woodard ('14), Nick Towns ('15), Rashad Woodley ('14)

First Quarter - MV 16 - NR 5

Surveying the 6'6" Rashad Woodley in the jump circle, the Jackets inserted a guard and brought all of their players into the defensive end, conceding the opening tip...

Marcus Knabbs scored the opening points of the game on a Eurostepping drive down the right hand foul lane.  The Jackets foreshadowed their game-long frustration early on, when in their first offensive possession, they pulled four offensive rebounds and could not score in five tries.  Rashad answered with a soft four footer, but NR's Tim Ink scored an old-school three pointer, fouled by Lucas Isaza.  Ink would lead his team with ten points on the night.

New Riegel attempted a press, but Marcus beat everyone to the hoop on a a coast-to-coast layup.  Danny Hazimah entered the game, which meant that MV began their pressure defense.  After a Blue Jacket airball, Maumee Valley's Rashad Woodley scored on a beautiful Danny Hazimah pass



a couple of empty possessions later, Rashad hauled in this rebound and Solomon Collins was hammered on the offensive end...



...in the midst of a 10-3 Hawks and the home team was struggling to keep up in its man-to-man defensive setup. FIrst year head Coach Dave Losey took a time out to switch his team to a 2-3 zone, which is pretty much where they stayed for the rest of the evening.

But NR couldn't hide from the MV press.  Danny Hazimah stole the ball and fed it to Solomon for two points. The Jackets scored back, then Truth Foreman hit this two point twister...



Maumee Valley continued to force the action until the very end of the quarter when Truth picked the pocket of NR's point guard and scored with time running out



MV was off to an 11 point lead.

Second Quarter - MV 14 - NR 12

The Hawks second quarter start reflected the frigid conditions outside, as they committed a turnover and missed on their first two attempts.  New Riegel's Jake Dreyfuse and Tim Ink scored the first four points of the quarter to cut the lead to seven.  Dreyfuse would match his 2012-13 average with eight points in the game.  Truth Foreman answered back with a putback off a rebound.  MV's aggressive play put the hosts in the bonus at 6:41 and NR 2  capitalized on a 1-1, cutting the lead to seven, 18-11.

The teams traded baskets, then Truth Foreman hit a three, then made one of two free throws.  Thad Woodard converted on a steal and the Hawks had run off five quick points.  The teams traded baskets again, then Thad nailed a three-ball with two seconds to go to give MV a 30-17 halftime lead.



Third Quarter - MV 11 - NR 7

Both teams traded two empty possessions to start the second half.  New Riegel was struggling underneath with Rashad's long defensive reach, but the visitors scored the first five points of the frame, deeply cutting into the Hawks' lead.  MV needed 4:15 to get on the board, Thad Woodard hitting two free throws to up the visitors lead to 10.  Coach Arthur put the heat back on after the free throws, and the visitors began to perk up.  Here's a Rashad block / Solomon fast break / Thad score for the Hawks:



Danny Hazimah scored next on a fast break...



... then Thad Woodard sent his defender to the floor on a fake and hit a three to put his team up 14, 39-24.   MV would finish the quarter in style with it's traditional two guard back door cut to the basket with six seconds left.



With eight minutes left, it was Visitors 41 - Home 24

Fourth Quarter MV 16 - NR 8

New Riegel started the quarter off with an 8-3 run and cut the lead to 44-32.  In a critical juncture of the game, MV was called for palming, one of their only unforced errors of the night.  But MV got the ball back and Keith McClure scored a big basket on a coast to coast run.  That play sparked the Hawks.  Thad, Keith and Truth combined for the next five points.  Rashad blocked the next shot, and the Hawks ran clock until he was fouled at the other end.



Truth provided the icer with this three pointer



It was 54-32 Maumee Valley.  The teams combined for an 0-7 stretch until Thad sunk two free throws with 1:24 left to finish off the game.  The bus warmed up for the satisfiying ride home and the Hawks enjoying a 54-32 road victory.

Next up, its those geriatric giants, the MVCDS alumni in the Holiday Hoops Classic on December 28 at the Varsity Gym



Scoring

Truth Foreman 15
Danny Hazimah 2
Marcus Knabbs 4
Keith McClure 7
Nick Towns 1
Thad Woodard 16
Solomon Collins 8
Rashad Woodley 4

The Headlines Write Themselves

From New Riegel's local newspaper

Mr. Foreman, you're a headline writer's dream

MV 57 - New Riegel 32 Insightful Internet Commentary

December 17, 2013 - New Riegel

The Hawks defeat the Blue Jackets of New Riegel of the Midland Athletic League 57-32 with a swarming, pressing defensive effort this evening.  Maumee Valley has now won five straight and move to 5-1.  Thad Woodard (16) and Truth Foreman (15) led the way for MV.

Nick Towns, Zain Bedi and Thad Woodard are on hand to spread the holiday cheer, while Truth Forenan and Rashad Woodley sneak around the back..