Mavs win first league game off dominant second half

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-2) earned a statement league win over the Wenatchee Panthers 82-56. Head coach Craig Groth said it was great to start league play with a win.   

“It's a good win,” he said. “It's going to be a battle no matter who you're up against. Our players know coming in that we had to play our best from start to finish. It took us a little while to get going. Once we got going, the buckets started to fall. Our defense started to come together as a team.”  

The Mavericks took a 10-6 lead early in the first quarter and sustained that throughout the entire game. Wenatchee kept the game competitive in the first half by capitalizing on Moses Lake's errors. By halftime, the Mavs led 38-30. However, they caught fire in the second half and erupted offensively to outscore the Panthers 44-26 to earn their third win of the season.   

“We didn't quite get off to the start that we wanted to,” Groth said. “As the game went on, our intensity got more aggressive. It got better. We started feeding off each other.”   

The Mavericks' first-quarter lead came from successful shots by Grady Walker and Caden Barney. The Panthers kept the score close by forcing turnovers and intercepting risky passes by the Mavericks. However, Moses Lake did enough to maintain the lead at 17-12 heading into the second quarter.   

The Mavericks' defense brought an intense front to keep the Panthers off balance. At times, the defense provided a spark for them on the other end of the court. Carter Anderson blocked a shot early in the second quarter, which led to a score shortly after.   

With four minutes left in the first half, Moses Lake led 30-18. However, the Panthers regained enough momentum to cut the score to 38-30 by halftime.   

“Sometimes shots just don't fall. For the most part, we had pretty good looks in the first half,” Groth said. “Second half, we were able to attack the hoop a little bit more, which opened it up on the outside. Got those shots to fall. We always talk about where we want to establish the game, and we have a pretty tall, lengthy and strong team, so we want to take advantage of that when we can on the interior.”   

Moses Lake did just that from the jump in the third quarter. They got off to a fast start behind a one-handed slam dunk by Barney. This offensive eruption by the Mavericks energized the student section, who showered them with cheers.   

From there, the Mavs meticulously built their lead and widened the gap. With four minutes left in the third quarter, Moses Lake led 47-34. After a late three by Brady Jay and a blocked buzzer-beater attempt by TJ Jones, the Mavericks led 62-49 heading into the fourth quarter.  

“We got our hands on a lot of things and actually did an outstanding job of collecting a lot of (steals), but momentum started turning once those 50/50 balls started going in our favor. We're able to get out and transition with a couple blocked shots, which led us into great scoring opportunities with threes on twos,” Groth said.   

Early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks got another steal off a tip by Jay, who then sprinted to the other end of the hardwood for a layup. Moses Lake turned up the intensity on their transition defense. This led to more scoring opportunities, like a corner three by Barney to make it 71-51 with four minutes to go in the game.   

The Panthers added a couple of more scores, but it would not be enough to mount a comeback, and the Mavericks sealed the 82-56 win at home. As the game went on, Groth said his players got better at feeding off each other.   

“We're fortunate enough we have some athletic guys that are able to get to the rim and dunk. We have other guys that can get to the rim and score. It makes the game a lot easier when we have six or seven guys that are scoring consistently on the inside and feeding off each other and building off each other,” he said.   

Game results from their game against Eisenhower on Saturday were not available at the time of press. Their next home game is Friday against University at 7 p.m. As they look ahead, Groth and the Mavericks are focused on fine-tuning the little details and eliminating a few miscommunications.  

“Coaches do a good job of strategizing and putting their players in the spot to succeed. Moving forward, every game is just going to be a grind. Even next week, with two non-league games, we can't have a letdown,” Groth said.   

BOX SCORE:   

WNCH: 12-18-19-7: 56  

MLHS: 17-21-24-20: 82 

    The Mavs’ Kyre Wiltbank (50) drives past a Wenatchee defender during their game Friday. Head Coach Craig Groth said more of their shots started to fall consistently in the second half.
  

    The Mavericks’ Caden Barney (30) dribbles the ball up the court against Wenatchee on Friday. Barney had a one hand dunk that provided a spark to the gymnasium.
  

    Brady Jay (2) shoots a free throw during their game against the Wenatchee Panthers. Jay went on a scoring run in the fourth quarter to help the Mavs run away with the game.