Final Four vs Wyoming (3/14)
On a very fairweather Friday in Springfield Ohio, the Maysville Panthers, and the Wyoming Cowboys made their way to Wittenberg to play for the shot at the big game. The two teams were amped and ready at the tipoff and were trading shots back and forth for the entire first half heading to the break tied at 22 points each.
The game started to lean in Maysville’s direction as the game resumed with the Panthers taking the lead to end the third quarter up slightly by 44 – 41. As the regulation clock ticked down the Cowboys rallied together to tie up the game and from there they traded the lead with Maysville until the final buzzer when they tied at 61 points.
As the crowd was roaring, the Panthers and the Cowboys fought on with cheers and screams at every score, Gator Nichols tried to close out the game with a shot at the buzzer but missed and the two teams were tied at 67 heading into a second overtime.
Four minutes flew by in an instant as the two teams both wanted to move on to the State Finals but only one could make it. The Cowboys jumped out in front with a couple of free throws to take a 71 – 67 lead. Jordyn Watson hit a three-pointer and then Nichols followed up with two to take back the lead 72 – 71. Wyoming scored with just seconds left on the clock and Maysville made their way back to the hoop where they missed an attempt but found Gator Nichols open and he put up a shot just as the buzzer rang out to land a three-point game-winning phenomenal play as the crowd and his teammates tackled him in the middle of the court.
Gator Nichols had 29 points and four assists, Jordyn Watson scored 18 points, and Kane Roehrig had 14 points.
Maysville moves on to the State Championship on Friday, March 21st, at the University of Dayton UD Arena, game time is set for 4:15 PM.
Vs River Valley (3/9)
Back at the Convo on Sunday, this time the Panthers were facing the River Valley Vikings who came into the game with a winning season taking top marks in their conference and holding a 24 – 2 record overall. That didn’t phase Maysville though as they grabbed the tipoff and never looked back taking a decisive 16 – 6 lead at the first break. River Valley stepped it up as the first half came to a close, but the Panthers stayed out in front, building their lead to 30 – 16 as both teams hit the locker room.
The Vikings definitely showed a renewed strength at the start of the second half pulling out their largest scoring quarter in the game thus far, but Maysville topped it scoring 23 points in just that round to keep the lead alive by a score of 53 – 31 as the final quarter began. The Vikings left it all on the court in a final break-neck rally to try to tie up the game outscoring the Panthers by nearly double in the final minutes but they fell short and Maysville took the 66 – 54 victory.
Landon Iden shined for the Panthers with 17 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Gator Nichols had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Kane Roehrig had 14 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Jordyn Watson had 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Kade Rock had eight points, four rebounds, and three assists for the Panthers.
Vs New Lexington (3/6)
The Panthers (both sets) headed to the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens on Thursday for the start of their regional playoff series. New Lexington came into the game after having a rough season going 8 – 8 in conference play and battling some hard losses at the end of their regular season including a 72-45 loss against Maysville in February. The South Zanesville team on the other hand had a hot season dropping only two conference games and pulling out all of the stops in the postseason as they try to propel themselves back to the main stage. Maysville was primed and ready to meet the challenge blasting out of the tipoff to totally dominate the court with a huge 23 – 10 lead by the end of the first period. New Lexington tried to battle back but could not come close to keeping pace with Maysville as the second period just wasn’t long enough for them, and the first half of the game was in the books with Maysville leading 40 – 17 at the break.
After the halftime locker room speeches were over, Maysville hit the court with the same fire they had at the beginning of the game totally blowing past New Lex’s defenses landing a 15-point third quarter with a score of 55 – 25 heading into the final frame. As the time on the clock expired New Lexington showed more power and speed than they had the entire game and matched Maysville point to point in a combined 38-point fire-off, but the last-minute surge didn’t decrease their deficit and Maysville took the 74 – 44 win to move on in their Regional quest.
Gator Nichols had 20 points for the Panthers with seven rebounds and three assists. Jordyn Watson had 18 points for Maysville with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Landon Iden had 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Gavin Ferguson had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists. Kade Rock had nine points, five rebounds, and a steal.
