By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

Despite an eight-game losing streak, the Mehlville Senior High School boys’ basketball team cannot be accused of a lack of effort, said head coach Andy Guethle.

“You really can’t measure things all on just wins and losses,” Guethle told the Call. “We’re definitely not losing due to a lack of effort.”

The Panthers (4-11, 0-6 Suburban West) dropped a disappointing 66-57 decision at Parkway South last Friday despite out-rebounding the Patriots.

“The kids played really hard in that game,” Guethle said. “We were down by just five points late in the game.”

Mehlville’s Rodney Heard led the Pan-thers with 11 points, 10 steals, nine assists and seven rebounds. The senior guard is averaging 10.5 points a game this season along with a team-leading 4.9 rebounds a game.

He also has 103 assists along with 52 steals and seven blocked shots and leads the Suburban West Conference in the two categories.

“Rodney really played hard on defense for us against Parkway South,” Guethle said.

“He’s just one heck of an athlete,” Guethle added.

The Panthers’ David Williams also scored in double figures with a 10-point performance, including seven rebounds and one assist. The sophomore forward is averaging seven points and 3.6 rebounds a game this season.

Williams also has 12 steals and two blocked shots.

“David’s a good player that’s come a long way this season,” Guethle said. “He’s really starting to post-up better and becoming more physical on defense.”

Mehlville’s back in action at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, traveling to Duchesne for a non-conference game with the Pioneers.

Duchesne is riding a six-game winning streak on the hot shooting of Zack Plackemeier, who’s averaging 18.6 points a game this season.

“I haven’t had the chance to see them, but I know that they’ve got the Plackemeier kid, who’s a good player and is only a sophomore. I think we’ll have our hands full against them.”

Earlier this week, the Panthers battled Vianney (12-6 overall) with hopes of ending their eight-game losing streak on Tuesday — after the Call went to press.