Andrews – It’s hard to imagine a better head coaching debut than new Wildcats boys basketball coach Matt Maennle had on Nov. 23. His team held Blue Ridge scoreless in the first quarter and coasted to a 67-27 victory to open the 2021-22 season.
“We played really good defense,” Maennle said. “(We) turned them over a lot, got a lot of layups to get off to a good start. The kids played hard, and played really good defense to get the game started on the right foot.”
Andrews led 21-0 after the first quarter, then 39-6 at halftime. The Bobcats pressed early on, then switched to a half court zone. The Wildcats could never get comfortable, and Andrews was able to take advantage by scoring in transition. Juniors Donovan Bateman and Isaac Weaver set the tone on both ends of the floor, and each scored a team-high 14 points.
It runs through Weaver and Bateman,” Maennle said. “Their effort defensively helped how well they played offensively, too, getting to the basket and playing hard on both ends of the floor.”
It was a good start to the season, but Maennle, who took the reigns this year from his father – Andrews athletic director Frank Maennle – knows there will be bigger challenges ahead. The Wildcats host Franklin this Friday, and the Panthers have some size inside that could give Andrews trouble.
Maennle also wants to see Andrews improve its perimeter shooting, which the Wildcats may need if they’re not able to force turnovers and score in transition the way they did against Blue Ridge.
Andrews only was able to practice for a week before facing the Bobcats because of football, but Maennle likes the way his team is coming together early in the season.
“They’ve played together a long time,” Maennle said. “If we run the right stuff and we’re in the right defenses, these guys are going to play well together. They’re unselfish, play hard, play well.”
In the girls game, the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a halftime lead before struggling in the second half and falling to Blue Ridge, 46-40.
“I got a young team,” Andrews girls basketball head coach Eric Duong said. “We’re building right now. Being able to finish in close games, that’s a skill. It just doesn’t come overnight. You have to learn how to do that.”
The Lady Wildcats led 29-22 at halftime, but turnovers and foul trouble made the difference in the second half. Duong said he had multiple starters with four fouls heading into the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The loss is still progress from the last time these teams met two years ago, when Blue Ridge won the two meetings by a combined 74 points.
“We were able to do some things and execute some things correct that kept us in the game,” Duong said.