Despite holding the No. 3 Johnson County Cavaliers to their lowest field goal percentage of the season, the Labette Cardinals men fell on Saturday in KJCCC play, 66-56.
“We had a great attitude and approach to the game,” Labette head coach Jermaine Maybank said. “Guys saw it as an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the nation. We showed a lot of pride tonight. We stuck to the gameplan and scheme. We just couldn’t hit shots. Against a team like that, you have to be perfect.”
Johnson County shot 39% from the field but feasted on the glass, pulling down 14 offensive boards and putting up 10 more field goal attempts than Labette.
“Rebounding is a toughness stat,” Maybank said. “We didn’t have the toughness to finish off plays and finish off great defensive possessions. That hurt us. More possessions equals more points. That’s the same thing that’s plagued us is conference. We can’t give teams extra possessions.”
Vontay Robinson led Labette with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with six boards.
“He’s going to be a class of the league going forward,” Maybank said. “It’ll take another year or so with development. But he’s that good.”
Labette connected on 36% of its shots, including just 28% from deep.
“We had great looks and generated those looks based on how they played Vontay,” Maybank said. “They made us shoot the ball. And that was the smart way of attacking us with how we’ve shot in conference play.”
Despite remaining winless in KJCCC play, Maybank felt the Cardinals played perhaps its best game of the year.
“As a competitor, I’m pissed,” Maybank said. “We were confident going in. But it’s encouraging. I won’t harp on moral victories. But we have to count the pennies. We took a step forward. Now we have to do that all the time. We have to build the muscle memory of competing and sustaining. It takes our best every time.”
Avian Webb led Johnson County with 15 points.
Up next
Labette, now 9-17 overall and 0-9 in KJCCC play, heads to Highland on Wednesday.
“It’s a long drive, but we’re privileged to play this game,” Maybank said. “We want to show what we’re working on. If we play like we did tonight, we’ll be fine. I think we can go up there and compete.”
Nikita Kolontayev (2) of the Labette Cardinals puts up a jumper in a Saturday loss to Johnson County. Sean Frye/Sun photo
