Maumee boys can’t keep up with NBC-leading Otsego

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

Maumee faced a tough task last week, welcoming in red-hot Northern Buckeye Conference-leading Otsego.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, it went according to the records both teams brought into the matchup.

Otsego got out to an early lead and cruised to a 66-49 win. The Knights improved to 13-1 overall and 8-0 in the NBC while Maumee fell to 4-11 and 2-7.

The Knights shot 50 percent from the field, including 47.6 percent from 3-point distance (10-of-21). Kaidyn Hutton led all scorers with 24 points, including three 3-pointers.

“They’re number one in the league for a reason, and we saw it tonight,” Maumee coach T.J. Gillespie said. “They can literally do everything, from inside, outside, shooting the ball, getting it downhill. All we can do is prepare for those things, scout the best we can, put them in the right positions, and after that, we just have to play.”

The Panthers trailed by 13 at halftime, and the deficit ballooned to 22 by the end of the third quarter.

Ben Kubicz led Maumee with nine points, adding three rebounds and three assists. Eli Dodson and Will Kubicz had seven points each; Dodson had a team-high five rebounds.

Carson Graetz and Abram Sutherland each scored six points.

“We don’t have the most confident group, and that showed tonight,” Gillespie said. “It also showed where we have to go. In the postgame, we’ll talk about what happened, we’ll watch film and talk about, that’s where we want to be. We want to be at the top of the league, and we want to handle games like they handled it tonight.”

Before the game, Maumee honored the senior members of its dance, cheerleading and boys basketball teams.

As a new coach coming in, Gillespie was thankful for his three seniors — Graetz, Michael Kiss and Parker Richardson — for buying in and believing in him.

“I love everybody on our team, but I definitely love those seniors,” Gillespie said. “They’ve given it their all for one last go-around. They came out, gave it their all, and that’s all I can ask.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

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