After a five-game losing streak, the Mehlville boys basketball team snapped the skid and won four games in a row.
The Panthers took down Fox on Jan. 2, 52-40. Brady Sights led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Aron DeRoy added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Sights and DeRoy came up big once again on Jan. 5 when Mehlville downed McClure North 54-50. Sights had a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win. DeRoy added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Panthers also defeated Seckman 73-57 on Jan. 9 and beat Parkway South 61-47 on Jan. 12. At The Call’s press time, MHS was 6-8 for the season.
Mehlville head coach Daniel Braun said that while both Sights and DeRoy are playing well, there are plenty of other players who have contributed this season.
“Marcus Jacobs has been playing great basketball as a point guard and really starting to lead on the floor and in the locker room. Corey Ward is a very dangerous player attacking the basket and takes on a lot of defensive responsibility for us,” Braun said.
The coach also mentioned the confidence of a few of the players.
“Andrew Groves and Mirsad Velic are shooting the ball with a lot of confidence and doing the little things well to help their team,” he said. “Mickey Barrett is a senior that hasn’t played much in the past but is a calm and steadying presence on the court. Trent Minner has earned more and more playing time as the season goes on and plays with an infectious energy that brings out the best in his teammates. Jordan Hannam-Lewis is a sophomore who can cause a lot of chaos defensively and is starting to feel more comfortable offensively as well.”
Now at 5-8, Braun said the team isn’t satisfied with its record.
“I give a lot of credit to our players, we talk about the process of building every day and they are fully committed to that,” Braun said. “We are disappointed in some of the results through the first part of the season, but we stay focused on building each day. In our five-game losing streak, we played some really good basketball but couldn’t get over the hump and turn in the positive results. Nothing changes after a win or a loss. We come back to practice the next day and continue to build.”
One thing that should pay off as the season wears on is the depth of the Panthers. Braun said bench players are pushing the starters for more time, along with junior varsity players pushing the varsity players during practice.
“Our depth plays into that as we have been playing 10 guys most nights,” he said. “Each day in practice is a battle. We have JV guys pushing and challenging our varsity guys, and varsity bench guys pushing our starters. It leads to productive practices where we can build every day and push each other to get better.”
