Maysville's defense has been lagging of late. That changed considerably against John Glenn

NEWTON TOWNSHIP — For all of its razzle dazzle and offensive firepower, Maysville has learned a few lessons of late.

One in particular, was that the other side of the floor bears equal importance.

That message resonated like tornado sirens after yielding 67 points in a high-scoring win against Philo on Tuesday. That came after Malvern and Sheridan scored 75 and 66, respectively, in consecutive games.

The Panthers took a step in a different direction on Friday, allowing only 14 first-half points in a 45-28 win against John Glenn.

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"For the last three days (in practice) we have been working, trying to get better defensively," Maysville coach Dave Brown said. "Everybody was gutsy. We really worked on not gambling so much and not reaching, and just be solid and keep someone in front of you. That is your goal."

The result was a turnover-laden, offensive struggle for John Glenn. The Muskies entered 8-3 and coming off wins in four of their last five games, including against Coshocton (9-3) and a Marietta squad that entered unbeaten and defeated Vincent Warren on Friday night.

They failed to establish any level of consistency against the Panthers, who forced 25 turnovers. Big man Caleb Larrick (14 points) and guard Stehl Bates (nine) had all but five of the team's points, while the team had just 12 field goals.

Maysville won despite hitting only one 3-pointer and top scorer Alex Bobb scoring seven points less than his average.

"As Coach (Gene) Ford used to say, you've got to dance fast and you've got to be able to dance slow," Brown said. "To win a district, that's something you have to do."

Maysville senior Wesley Armstead, never one to lack defensive intensity, said he was glad to see the team return to playing effectively on both ends.

"I felt like I could read what they were doing," Armstead said. "They were making some suspect passes. We were all able to get in the gaps and get our hands on balls.

"Obviously we are good at shooting 3s," Armstead added. "But our first goal is to get a steal and go shoot layups. The goal of our offense is either to get a wide-open 3 or a wide-open layup. Our goal is to always get out and run."

They entered Friday's game allowing 50.6 points per game. Against teams with winning records that average grows to 53.8.

Friday's showing, where the backcourt feasted in the passing lanes to create deflections and runouts, looked more like the Panthers of last season that won a district title in Division II.

Per usual, Armstead was firmly in the middle of the carnage. He said afterward that he has no qualms with being a pace setter on defense, adding he feels the team's younger players look up to his style of play.

"He always guards one of the other team's best players and has been doing that for four years," Brown said. "He is just a competitor. He doesn't care if he scores 20, which can he do, or if he scores two. He's very low maintenance. We have built our program around guys like him."

Armstead echoed Brown in that the team's focus has been to be less all-or-nothing on defense.

"After that (Malvern) game, we realized that we can press teams, but when we are really going to win is when we are guarding in the half court," Armstead said. "The teams that can handle the ball can break the press. When they break the press, we can't pressure them. We have to be able to guard in the half court."

The win pulled the teams into a first-place tie in the Muskingum Valley League's Big School Division at 5-2. They are two games behind leader Tri-Valley, which visits Maysville on Feb. 9.

A 6 p.m. Monday clash at Ohio Dominican with Johnstown Northridge, led by All-Ohio standout Carter Mallernee, figures to be an even bigger test for the team's defense.

The multidimensional 6-3 guard had 33 of his team's 42 points against Pataskala Licking Heights, which is now 8-2.

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Wesley Armstead, Maysville boys basketball recapture defensive prowess