Still trying to find their footing under new head coach Jermaine Maybank, the Labette Cardinals men dropped a pair of KJCCC games with losses to Highland, 84-69, on Monday and Fort Scott, 86-66, on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Cardinals stayed within striking distance of Highland in the first half before the Scotties blew the door open in the second.
“I thought we were ready to play in the first half,” Maybank said. “I thought we matched their intensity. But in the second half, we didn’t respond. Our defense really let us down. I have to put our guys in a better position. I take responsibility for that. In all of our conference games, it’s been the same story. We can’t sustain in the second half. We have to do a better job of finishing games.”
Highland shot a blistering 49% from the field while the Cardinals shot 30%.
“There’s new philosophies that I’m bringing to the table,” Maybank said. “Everybody is learning on the fly. I’m holding the guys accountable to that. But the kids are trying to learn real college basketball. Against good teams, mishaps show up.”
Vontay Robinson led Labette with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds.
“He’s a shining star,” Maybank said. “He’s getting healthy. He’s doing what I recruited him for. He’s going to be a force in this league and he’ll only get better. We need more from him on the defensive end, but he’s getting better.”
Highland’s Colton Knoll shot 11-of-15 to register 30 points.
“He’s awkward and dominant with his left hand,” Maybank said. “He got to his spots and he saw one go through and got confidence. He really lit us up in the second half. He’s a good player.”
On Wednesday, Fort Scott led Labette by 14 at halftime.
Labette shot 37% from the field while the Greyhounds shot 54%.
Denys Kaminskyi came off the bench to pace the Cardinals with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting while Fort Scott’s Marko Taft led his squad with 16 points.
The two losses dropped Labette to 1014 overall and 0-6 in KJCCC play halfway through the round robin.
“I have to find a way to keep the guys motivated,” Maybank said. “If we can play hard, that’s going to help us figure out some things. We’re still searching for an identity. It’s a unique situation, so I’m taking things as they come. It’s a tough situation.”
Up next
Labette heads to Chanute on Saturday to take on Neosho County.
