MORAN Marmaton Valley head coach Gavin Cole has been straightforward about the 2019-20 season since the pre-season. Cole planned to rebuild for the future, institute a winning team-first mindset, and give his youngsters time on the court.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats failed to follow the plan. Marmarton Valley looked out of touch and out of sync in its 64-16 loss to St. Paul. The Wildcats are still looking for their first win of the season.
I tell them before every game that things you can control are your attitude and effort. Those things always have to be there, Cole said. There are going to be nights where we miss shots, but the effort and attitude have to be consistent. We werent consistent in the JV game tonight, and we were not consistent coming out here.
Even before the game commenced, Cole said he was not pleased with his teams mental focus.
You can tell that even before the game we were lackadaisical in our approach, Cole said. We are going to get discouraged at times, but we cant base our season on wins and losses right now. We have to base it off of improvement, and I dont think we did that tonight.
The Wildcats committed four turnovers in their first five possessions. Matters were only made worse when the Indians shut out Marmaton Valley in the first quarter, racing to a 19-0 lead after the first period.
The only bright spot for the Wildcats in the first half came from a dribble-drive finish from senior Ty Scharff. At halftime the Wildcats trailed 45-8.
Ty is a great kid who you know will always give you his best, Cole said. He is a leader for us. That is one thing that I hope the younger guys take from him as well as Bo Knavel, because those guys always play hard.
The Indians scored the first 11 points of the third quarter before Knavel got the Wildcats on the board at the foul line. Marmaton Valleys offensive struggles continued, and were put away 64-16 when it was all said and done.
The Wildcats will look to make matters right when they travel to Pleasanton on Friday.
We will start preparing and checking away at that one, Cole said. I dont think the boys are discouraged yet. This is going to be a season where we take our bumps and bruises, but we have to have an eye towards the future and building good habits.
BOX SCORE
Marmaton Valley (0-8-3-5 16) (pts): Drake 6, Mullinex 1, Adams 4, Woods 2, Scharff 2, Samuel 1.
St. Paul (19-26-15-4 64) (pts): Bradshaw 11, Lemmons 16, H. smith 5, Albertini 11, Dent 6, Beachner 5, Bradshaw 10.
