Mavericks pick up early wins
The Anderson County Mavericks played against both Lenoir City and the Knoxville Homeschool Ambassadors High School on Saturday, Nov. 23. The Mavericks won both games, going 61-45 against KHAHS and 65-47 against Lenoir City.
The Mavericks dominated their game against KHAHS from halfway through the second quarter, but at first things looked much closer, with the score hovering around a two-point difference until halfway through the second quarter, when the Mavericks seemed to find their footing and rapidly left the Ambassadors behind, finishing the second quarter a full 13 points above their competition.
The Mavericks’ Connor Martin and Eli Varner had a fantastic showing against the Ambassadors with Martin finishing with an effective field goal percentage of 54.2, and Varner finishing with 34.8-percent.
Going by the Value Point System (VPS), which weighs players’ negative contributions against their positives to provide a numerical stat of a player’s “worth,” Carter Jett and Nick Reed came away the clear winners of the night, with Jet finishing with a 2.52 and Reed finishing with a 1.49.
When the Mavs faced off against the Lenoir City Panthers, their start was even rockier, as they found themselves treading water and playing catch-up for most of the first quarter. Much as they did against the Ambassadors, though, the Mavericks came on line in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers by 12 points to carve out a comfortable lead that they would maintain for the rest of the game, finishing 65-47.
For the Lenoir City game, JaTrevor Stagnolia proved himself a real asset to the Mavs, finishing with a field goal percentage of 50, an effective free-throw percentage of 83, and a VPS of 1.07. He also finished with a 66-percent effectiveness rate beyond the three-point line.
Carter Jett again finished with the highest VPS, finishing with a score of 2.52 and an eFG of 75-percent, though Stone Hatmaker came in a resounding second, recording a VPS of 1.91. Both players’ VPS scores indicate simply that they both provided many more positive contributions during the game than they did detractions.
On rebounds, Carter Jett and Eli Varner wrestled for the top defensive spot, both managing four rebounds, with Nick Reed and Connor Martin both coming in second place with three each.
On offensive rebounds, Nick Reed dominated with eight and Eli Varner came up a distant second with five.