FAIRBORN ― Maysville’s 3-point shooting often does teams in. But in a Division IV state semifinal rematch on Thursday, March 19, Cincinnati Wyoming took the shorter route to the basket, with amazing success.
The Cowboys (26-2) used their quickness, athleticism, skill and length to get to the rim, scoring 44 points in the paint, shooting a sizzling 72% from the floor (28 of 39) and holding the Panthers to 36% shooting in a 68-51 revenge victory against the defending state champions.
“Obviously, they’re very talented, to score the way that they do, and they’re a hard team to prepare for,” said Wyoming coach Matt Rooks, whose team will play Cleveland Glenville (19-9), a 48-36 winner against Sandusky Perkins, for the state title at 4 p.m. March 20 at UD Arena. “We had to keep them out of the paint and guard them at the 3-point line. They change games with their 3s, but we wanted to make them hit tough 2s against the zone.”
Added Rooks: “On the flip side, they couldn’t stop us. We tried to be really aggressive at the rim.”
Devin Evans, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored a career-high 32 points on 12 of 15 shooting as the Cowboys bolted ahead 8-0 and never trailed. But true to form, Maysville, which ended 26-2 after winning 26 in a row, kept coming back. However Wyoming, which lost to the Panthers in overtime in last year’s semifinals, wouldn’t let them get over the hump.
Kane Roehrig scored 7 second-quarter points and Landon Ferguson hit a pair of 3s off the bench as the Panthers trimmed a 16-4 deficit down to 22-17. However, Evans scored in transition and off a turnover as the Cowboys went back up 30-20 at the break.
“We thought it (a comeback) was going to happen the whole time,” Roehrig said. “In the end, we just fell short.”
Gator Nichols, who beat Wyoming on a shot at the buzzer in overtime last year, had a four-point play off a 3 and the Panthers made four in a row beyond the arc, as they suddenly sliced a 32-20 deficit to 38-36 on Jordyn Watson’s driving three-point play. Nichols drove with the left hand to score and it was 40-38.
It was still a 48-45 game with 5:25 left when Nichols sank all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer. But the Cowboys would not be denied. Evans scored on another drive, touching off a game-clinching 10-0 run to a 58-45 lead that included four points of turnovers. Maysville had only seven of them, but they produced 12 Wyoming points.
Talented guards Kellen Wiley and Darren Gray, part of the Cowboys’ all-senior starting five, added 14 and 12 points respectively, while Wiley had four assists and Gray seven rebounds. Wyoming attempted only three treys, making one, while Maysville was 10 of 27 from deep for 37% but just 7 of 20 on 2-pointers. It made all seven free throws.
Nichols, Maysville’s all-time leading scorer, ended his brilliant career with 16 points as he was limited to 4 of 15 shooting. He also had four assists and five rebounds.
“We’ll always have the bonds we all created,” Nichols said. “Our coaches were great people. You could talk to them about everything.”
Roehrig added 13 points, including 3 of 6 3-point shooting, while Watson and Landon Iden chipped in with eight points apiece as Maysville will graduate a senior class that went to three consecutive state tournaments, with runnerup and championship finishes. It was a surge unrivaled in the Muskingum Valley League.
The Panthers went an incredible 103-11 over that span.
“I’ll think of them more as people than players,” coach Dave Brown said. “It will be hard to replace them as people. They did everything we asked, and I was proud to go on this ride with them. They won a lot of games, and most importantly, they did it the right way. They’re all from Maysville, and since the third grade, they’ve wanted to do all of this.”
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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Wyoming gets to rim, gets revenge vs Maysville in state semifinals
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Zanesville Times Recorder / Zanesville Times Recorder
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
