The Maplewood Rockets's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fourth straight loss. They were outmatched by Pymatuning Valley at home and fell 78-47. Maplewood was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-24.
When it comes to explaining why Maplewood lost, one person who can't be blamed is Alex Donaldson. Despite the final result, he scored 16 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Donaldson hasn't dropped below two steals for 12 straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Braeden Hoffstetter, who scored six points.
Blake Krznaric continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Pymatuning Valley, scoring 22 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Krznaric hasn't dropped below 15 points for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Zane Neczeporenko, who scored 12 points along with six assists and six rebounds.
Maplewood dropped their record down to 2-12 with that loss, which was their sixth straight at home. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.0 points per game. As for Pymatuning Valley, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 10-3.
Maplewood will head out on the road to take on Badger at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Badger knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five matches -- so hopefully Maplewood likes a good challenge. As for Pymatuning Valley, they will be playing at home against Mathews at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mathews knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past four matches -- so hopefully Pymatuning Valley likes a good challenge.
