The stellar guard play of the Mavericks led to a convincing win over the CEO Kings on Saturday afternoon. The final score from Warner Park was 108–91.
After three weeks off, the Mavericks were able to get back on the court. The May 1 matchup against the Minneapolis Reign was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns within the Minneapolis program, and the following week the Mavericks had a bye.
Despite being away from the game for 21 days, it took the Mavericks only one quarter to shake off the rust and dominate the rest of the game. The home win marks the first ever win in the city of Madison for the inaugural Mavericks team.
“It felt really good,” Head Coach Curtrel Robinson said. “It has been a long time coming.”
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In the historic win, it was the three-headed monster of guards who stole the show. Julian Walters poured in 24 points — including 13 points in the second quarter to give the Mavericks a commanding lead at the half.
“I just try and be aggressive and also get my team involved,” Walters said to The Badger Herald.
Shareef Smith kept the heat on for Madison with 19 points in the second half. He finished with 21 points, four assists, three boards and three steals.
The third of the guard trio, Stavon Staples, also played well throughout the game. Staples scored eight points in each half to finish with 16.
“I can see that our chemistry is coming along as we play,” Walters said. “We have all the people we need to win a championship.”
The Mavericks won their battles in the paint as well. Travis Kell finished the game with a double-double by collecting 11 rebounds in addition to his 12 points.
Damon Smith was one point shy of a double-double, but he did stuff the stat sheet. He finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a block.
Dave Turner made his third in-game appearance for the Mavericks this season. After scoring 23 points in each of his first two games, the CEO Kings took an aggressive approach to bottle up and frustrate the Mavericks’ forward.
Turner finished the game with five points, but he still managed make his presence felt on the defensive end of the ball. He secured five rebounds, blocked three shots and had a steal.
The win improves the Mavericks to 4–2 this season and puts them in a three-way tie for second place in the OBA North.
The Mavericks will be back in action next weekend with back-to-back games against both of the top two teams in the OBA North. They will match up with TC Elite (5–2) in Minneapolis this Saturday. On Sunday, the Mavericks travel down to Waterloo, Iowa to take on the Cedar Valley CourtKings (4–2).
