Mavs pounce on Panthers
Anderson County’s Eli Varner shoots a fadeaway shot against Powell.
The second half was a back and forth between the two teams as Powell took the lead for the first time in the game. While the Mavericks held their own, they couldn’t manage to regain their early lead, and the regulation period for the game ended with the two teams tied 56-56.
In overtime, Powell’s energy sputtered out as the Panthers couldn’t manage to get a leg up on the Mavericks, who edged them out to win the game 67-64.
The Mavericks eked out a win against Powell, despite giving Powell plenty of chances to claim the victory. The Mavericks beat out the Panthers statistics-wise, finishing with a field goal percentage of 52 to Powell’s 34, despite making one less basket than Powell.
Despite shooting nine more times than Anderson County, Powell only made a single more basket. In the three’s category, it was even more glaring, as Anderson County made four three-point baskets out of 10 attempts, while Powell made three three-point baskets in a whopping 24 attempts.
Anderson County certainly gave them the opportunities to shoot, finishing the night with 19 turnovers. Those 19 turnovers ultimately resulted in 19 points for the Panthers, but the Mavericks made up for that with a total of 31 rebounds.
Anthony White had a fantastic game, finishing with 20 points, just barely beating out heavy-hitter Carter Jett with 19. To Jett’s credit, though, he finished with 90-percent on free throws and came away with 10 assists. White also added seven rebounds, coming in behind Connor Martin with eight and Eli Varner with an astounding 11 rebounds. Unfortunately for White and Varner, they both fouled out of the game.
Derek Wallace, head coach for the Mavericks, said they needed the win.
“We were on a three-game losing streak, and that’s the first one of those in three years,” he said. “We’re a young team. It happens. “
Wallace said there’s always difficulty coming back from Christmas, but it was more than that.
“You lose a couple games coming back from Christmas when some guys are still out of town, but we really lost what I would call an identity,” he said. “We re-established that against Powell. We had some good practices, some good teamwork, and the kids are trying to buy in.
“I forget how young we are a lot of the time. I’ve had old teams the past five years. I was giving them a little too much freedom on offense and had to step in and rein them in a little bit.”
