Maples’ future still bright despite playoff loss at Leechburg
Mapletown鈥檚 boys basketball season came to an end with an 84-37 loss at Leechburg in a WPIAL Class A first round playoff game on March 2.
The Maples lost their final eight games after a 4-1 start to finish at 4-9 overall. Even so, it was Mapletown鈥檚 best record since it went 7-13 in its last postseason appearance seven years ago, an indication the program is beginning to turn around.
鈥淭he senior class coming into this year had won two games and they won four this year and we had chances to win a couple more,鈥� said third-year coach Chad Stevenson, whose team ended a 79-game losing streak in his first season at the helm.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of young kids on this team. I think this is definitely a stepping stone, a move in the right direction.鈥�
The Maples stayed with the Blue Devils in the opening period and trailed only 14-10. The floodgates opened after that as Leechburg (8-4) outscored Mapletown 58-20 in the middle quarters.
Dylan Cook was the top scorer for the Blue Devils with a game-high 20 points. Braylan Lovelace scored 19 and Eli Rich added 18.
Landan Stevenson led Mapletown with 15 points.
鈥淭he first quarter we played alright,鈥� Stevenson said. 鈥淭hen we got in some foul trouble and I had to put some younger kids in during the second quarter and they exposed us a little bit with their press, we started turning the ball over.
鈥淪till, it was a good experience for them. It鈥檚 something I think we can build on. I told them I think we have the ability to make the playoffs the next couple years with this group of kids coming back.鈥�
The Maples would have legitimately made the playoffs this season in a normal year as they placed alone in fourth place in Section 2, snapping a streak of six straight last-place finishes.
The 2020-21 season was a challenging one for the Maples, who were one of the last teams to start their season due to school district鈥檚 COVID-19 concerns.
鈥淭hen we had a coupe kids who were ineligible, a couple missed a few games for other reasons, Lance (Stevenson) has been dealing with a bad pulled groin,鈥� coach Stevenson said.
鈥淲hen you start late and you have a young team a lot of the freshmen don鈥檛 know the offense and all their assignments. So you鈥檙e trying to put that in during the middle of the season when that鈥檚 a time you should be sharpening your skills. That puts you behind the eight ball a little bit.
鈥淗opefully, next year we can have a full season and get into the swing of things. I think the future is bright at Mapletown.鈥�