Marauders cruise past Thunder
Manny Maynard is determined never to be outworked.
The 16-year-old guard for the A.N. Myer Marauders is not only talented, but brings a relentless work ethic to the court.
Maynard netted eight points to help the Marauders to a 69-47 triumph over the visiting Blessed Trinity Thunder Monday afternoon in an opening-round game at the BPSN Best of Niagara Boys Basketball Tournament.
“My brother (Santiago Maynard) always had me playing and I always wanted to get out (and play) before he did,” Maynard said. “He plays college ball (Fleming) and if he got out at 6, I’ll get out and 4:30 or 5 in the morning. I’ll play till he’s done and then play a half-hour after, or at least I’ll try. He plays a long time too.”
Myer coach Tyler Thomson marvels at Maynard’s level of effort.
“He’s got a lot of talent for his age but it’s more of the work ethic he brings to practice,” Thomson said. “He’s the kind of guy who puts in extra time and that kind of effort rubs off on everyone else on the floor.”
Thomson feels the sky is the limit for Maynard.
“I think he has the skill set and work ethic to play at the next level. A lot of work is going to be put in over the next couple of years but he’s the kind of guy who wants it and he can find himself a nice role playing at the next level.”
Maynard was thrilled when he heard about the BPSN tournament.
“I was really excited. Just more basketball for me is the best,” he said.
The Marauders earlier this month captured the Zone 3 senior AAA championship after defeating the Fort Erie Gryphons 65-44.
They were only able to get in a couple of practices in due to the March Break before Monday’s game.
“It’s not the easiest but the biggest problem is getting into set offences and set defences instead of just running drills and stuff,” Maynard said. “We were really, really rusty in the first half. We played horribly in the first half but the second half we picked it up.”
Thomson liked how his team responded in the second half, limiting the Thunder to only two points in the third quarter.
“We held them to only a few points which was our goal coming out of the half, focus on the defensive end and that led to offence,” Thomson said. “It was a good game overall.”
Nine Marauders hit the scoresheet as Thomson and his staff emptied the bench.
“Everyone can bring a little something different to the floor,” he said. “Perhaps I will tighten things up in the semifinal and in potentially our final game but we’ll see how things go. These guys have been working hard all season so we want to make sure everyone got out there.”
Thomson feels the tournament couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Everyone was super into it,” he said. “Our thought was we can’t have a SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) tournament or anything after zone so this is what we’re kind of looking at this as, not only a tournament in place of SOSSA and OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations), but more to what we’re going to be looking like next year because most of these guys will be with the team next year.”
Thunder coach Austin Anderson was disappointed with his club’s effort.
“I’m just going to say it was effort,” Anderson said, when asked for the difference in the game. “We were pretty lackadaisical. I don’t know what I watched there, because obviously we did not want to be here.
“We hopefully have a few more games and can end on a high note.”
STATS PACK
Myer 69 Thunder 47
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Myer guard Adam Abboud with 14 points.
A.N. Myer Marauders: Adam Abboud 14; D’Angelo Hoiness 14; Curin Smith 10; Manuel Maynard 8; Benson Angerville 8; Michael Ivanonv 5; Arden Martinez 4; Jonathon Brouwer 4; Louis Pullano 2;
Blessed Trinity Thunder: Joseph Cino 12; Michael Gore 10; Jacob Persaud 7; Luka Vukojev 6; Caleb Olomide 4; Ben Peters 2; Carter Kerrigan 2; Mawana Chidovi 2; Jude Ruthven 2.
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