Only five days after cutting down the nets for a league title, the Seaholm boys basketball season came to a heartbreaking end in Wednesday night’s first round MHSAA district playoff game.
The Maples suffered a 60-53 loss to Brother Rice, finishing the season with a 19-2 record, and an early playoff exit.
One factor playing against the Maples Thursday night was Richaud Pack being held to only 16 points.
For most players, 16 points is a solid scoring night, but this team is used to much more from their only Division 1 scholarship basketball player (Florida International).
For comparison, when the Maples beat Rice 63-50 earlier in the year on December 11, Pack had 29 and Conway had 22.
Part of this probably had to do with Pack squaring up with a fiercely tough defender, and close friend of his, Kevonte Martin-Manley.
Pack was clearly heartbroken after the loss, and understandably, declined to comment on the game.
Seeing how much this meant to Pack reveals a lot about his character.
He knows that this was far from his last game, and he knows he’ll be playing division 1 basketball in Miami, but that did not matter to him. What mattered to Pack was this team, this game, and a playoff run for this team.
Senior Bill Getschman felt that what made this loss the hardest is what could have been.
“It’s very rough loss,” said Getschman. “Mainly because this team had so much potential, so we were hoping to make a run.”
Throughout the night, Seaholm coach Jose Andrade’s team seemed to have no answer for Warrior star Kevonte Martin-Manley, who dropped 29 points on the Maples, knocking down seemingly unreal shots late in the game to put this one out of reach.
Martin-Manley and the Warriors came out fired up, and Rice deserves some recognition for the way they played.
“They outworked us,” said Getschman. “They deserve some credit.”
The first quarter was played on emotion, as Rice held a slim two-point lead after the opening eight minutes.
In the second quarter, despite a hot start and a tie game at one point, Rice emerged with a five point lead heading into halftime.
But the third quarter was crucial to the outcome of the game.
While the Maples had cut the lead to as little as three points at times, a series of ill-advised three point shots and impatience on the offensive end cost them as the Warriors took an eight point lead into the fourth quarter.
While the Maples came back from these types of deficits time and time again, you just can’t expect to come back every night, especially against a tough team playing for their playoff life.
That eight-point lead proved insurmountable, as the Maples never got closer than four points in the seven point loss.
Senior Jack Quigley played with a lot of heart, having a rock solid 12 point game and establishing some inside play for the Maples.
Getschman said perhaps the over-eager Maples underestimated this Warrior-team.
“I think that we may have been looking ahead to the rest of the playoffs,” said Getschman. “I mean, if we had one that game, the district championship would be an easy win against Groves or Royal Oak, so we may have been looking ahead to Regionals and taken Brother Rice lightly.”
Despite this disappointing loss, one thing rings true.
This may have been the best two year- span Seaholm basketball has ever seen – at least regular-season wise.
In the last two seasons and 43 games, the Maples are a remarkable 39-4, and boast an 18 game home winning streak.
Losses have been scarce for this team, which is why absorbing a loss of this magnitude can be a little hard to swallow, especially for the seniors.
Hopefully junior forward Shawn Conway, sophomore point guard Christian Pino, and junior Brad White can keep it going as key members of next year’s team.
In a lot of ways, supporters of Seaholm basketball have been very lucky.
For basketball players, parents, siblings, and fans, having the opportunity to watch Richaud Pack over these last four years has been a great experience. He is going to bring that same electricity, toughness, and swagger to Florida International in Miami, and they too will be lucky to have him.
