Maumee Ends Regular Season On A Downer With 70-54 Loss To Southview
BY KYLE BORCHERS — MIRROR SPORTS
Maumee’s boys basketball team closed out its regular season with a 70-54 loss at Southview on Friday.
The Panthers (6-14) actually led in the second quarter and trailed by only eight early in the fourth, but Southview wouldn’t be denied on its senior night.
Maumee fell behind 18-7 late in the first quarter, but then went on a 12-0 run, capped by a corner 3-pointer by junior Tyler Martin, on a kick-out by classmate Anthony Barnum.
That gave the Panthers a 19-18 lead and forced a Southview timeout with 5:59 remaining in the opening half.
The Cougars then scored four straight points, but Maumee stayed close, down 24-23.
Southview, though, went on an 8-0 run to make it a 32-23 count at halftime. It was 51-39 heading to the fourth.
Although Maumee got within eight on a basket by senior Damon Contat, turnovers haunted the Panthers soon thereafter and Southview pulled back away.
Senior Andy Borcherdt pumped in 23 points for Southview, 10 in the first quarter, including two treys.
Borcherdt then padded the lead in the fourth by going 6-for-8 at the foul line (10-for-13 on the night).
There was balance between the rest of the Southview regulars, as sophomore Allen Gant scored nine, senior Branden Yoshino and junior De’Nard Pinckney both had eight, senior Cam O’Reilly had seven and junior David Renner chipped in with six.
Yoshino, a 5-foot-11 guard, put together a nice all-around game with seven rebounds and four steals, as the Cougars forced 17 Maumee turnovers (eight in the fourth quarter).
On the other hand, Southview only gave the ball up nine times.
Martin paced the Panthers with 12 points, while Contat and senior Steven Boyd had 10 apiece.
Barnum finished with nine on the scoreboard, but he also added five rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals.
Boyd also notched five boards and senior Jon Hall dished out four assists.
The Panthers struggled at the free throw line, going 13-for-24 (54 percent). Meanwhile, Southview cashed in at a 25-for-34 rate (74 percent) – putting Maumee’s two most effective post players on the bench with foul trouble in the process.
The Cougars also outrebounded Maumee, 29-24.
Junior Varsity
Maumee’s junior varsity team lost 45-22 to finish the season with a 1-19 record.
Southview basically dominated throughout, leading 17-6 after one quarter, 23-9 at halftime and 30-20 after three quarters.
Maumee trailed by nine points at one juncture of the third, but the Cougars had a 15-2 showing in the final period to erase any doubt.
Made up of all sophomores, Southview was led by Joey Vermilya with 12 points. Jordan Hunt tossed in 10 and Jason Hoot added seven.
Vermilya also racked up five steals, while Brandon Sinram had four and Hunt three. Mo Abdelrahman grabbed six rebounds.
Maumee freshman Dominique King scored 11.
Freshmen
The Panthers freshman squad couldn’t capitalize on a bet with coach John Bryan.
If Maumee (5-15) ended the season on a three-game winning streak, Bryan told his players he’d shave the moustache that has graced his face for several years.
Southview, though, kept Bryan’s razor safe, beating Maumee 64-28.

Lady Panthers Put Up Good Fight In Sectional, But Fall Short
BY KYLE BORCHERS — MIRROR SPORTS
It was a valiant effort by Maumee’s girls basketball team in the first round of the Division II sectional tournament versus Scott (9-10) last Tuesday at Swanton, but the Panthers came up just short of their upset bid, 57-51.
“The kids played extremely hard,” said Maumee coach Mimi Olson-Takats. “They fought the entire game and never gave up.
“I can’t fault their efforts, but we just couldn’t take care of the ball at the right time.”
Maumee (2-19) trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, before cutting the deficit to one late in the third quarter and eventually tying the score at 40-40 with 7:11 remaining.
Senior Kyle Rubini went out with a big bang for the Panthers, pouring in a career-high 20 points.
“(Rubini) didn’t want to look back at her last game and say ‘I should have, would have or could have,’” Olson-Takats said.
After junior Katie Butler hit both ends of a one-and-one to even the game at 40-40, Scott senior Shekinah Alexander answered quickly with a three-point play.
Alexander scored again on another slash to the basket, making it 45-40, but the Panthers trimmed it back to 45-44 on a long jumper by sophomore Julia Mauro with 5:37 left.
Scott, however, capitalized on a Maumee turnover and went on to take a 50-44 lead.
A nice save on a rebound and an assist by junior Amanda Decker to Rubini made it 52-48 with 1:20 remaining, but then the Panthers had a lapse on defense, allowing a wide-open bunny shot while the Bulldogs were in their half-court set.
A short jumper by Rubini kept Maumee within striking distance with 38 seconds to go at 54-51, but Alexander burned the Panthers again – on a deep outlet pass for a layup for at least the third time – essentially putting the game out of reach after Maumee missed its next shot and was forced to foul.
Alexander pumped in 28 points on the night. The 5-foot-6 guard also racked up seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“You have to give Scott credit,” Olson-Takats said. “They were the better team.
“Alexander did a great job – that’s why she is first-team all-city. She is very athletic and creates so well off the dribble. She can go inside and shoot from outside.”
Decker piled up 11 points, seven steals and four assists, while Butler finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
“Decker is a great defender and has shown that all season,” Olson-Takats said. “She gets her hands on the ball and always makes things happen.
“I think that Butler needs to believe that she can compete and she did that versus Scott. She kept us in the game and did a great job going to the basket and creating fouls to get to the line.”
Senior Emily Junga chipped in with six on the scoreboard.
Rubini and junior Maddie Walker both had six boards.
One significant difference in the game was the fact that the Panthers had zero 3-pointers, compared to Scott hitting five (three by Alexander), a difference of 15 points.
Senior Iesha Pernell had the other two from long distance for the Bulldogs, on her way to 16 points and three steals.
Also for Scott, seniors Keziah Flunder (seven points) and Kayla Toyer (six blocks) both had eight boards, while junior Tiairra Hague took six off the glass.
Overall, the Bulldogs held a 38-32 rebounding advantage.
Scott committed 23 turnovers, compared to Maumee’s 17.
Both teams struggled at the free throw line: the Panthers were 9-for-21 (43 percent) and the Bulldogs went 8-for-18 (44 percent).
Maumee led 8-3 early, but eight points already by Alexander resulted in Scott holding a 10-8 advantage.
The Panthers tied it at 10-10, but Pernell hit a trey at the first-quarter buzzer to put Scott up 13-10.
Alexander ended up scoring 16 of the Bulldogs’ first 23 points, making it 23-12.
With Rubini stepping up, however, along with Junga and Decker, the Panthers got within 25-22 – before settling for a 29-22 deficit at halftime.
“My seniors (Junga and Rubini) both played extremely hard,” Olson-Takats said. “They kept us in the game.
“You can always count on Junga to hustle and dive on the floor. She works her butt off.
“They are both wonderful kids and great role models that work hard and give it their all. We are going to miss them next season.”
Maumee trailed by eight in the third quarter, before Butler gave the purple and gold a jolt with seven points, ultimately helping make it a 35-34 discrepancy.
The Panthers were down 40-36 heading to the fourth.
“I believe this team improved from the first game to the last game,” Olson-Takats said. “Our record, however, doesn’t show it.
“When (assistant) Terry Murnen and I took over, we knew it was going to take time. I believe we are on the right path.
“It has to start from the ground up. We put the Junior Panther program in place and now have fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade travel teams. I have some playing AAU for the first time.
“Like I tell my girls: Players are made in the summer. You can’t play for four months and expect to win.”