Maumee Valley hits big shots to sink Toledo Christian

Maumee Valley's #35, Jared Sturt, blocks the shot of Toledo Christian's #14, Damon St. John. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

Maumee Valley came out on fire Friday night, lighting it up from beyond the arc and took Toledo Christian out early in a key Toledo Area Athletic Conference tilt.

Seven of the Hawks' 11 first-half field goals came from 3-point range as they built a 15-point lead. Maumee Valley went on to steamroll Toledo Christian 59-46 at home to remain tied atop the league standings.

The Hawks (13-1 overall, 8-1 TAAC) drained four 3-pointers in the first quarter to ensure they would stay deadlocked with Gibsonburg for the conference lead.

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Senior Julius Turner scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half for Maumee Valley. Turner hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and added two more 3s in the second.

"We came out strong," Turner said. "The crowd helped out a lot when we hit those big shots. That gave us the momentum shift that we needed. We executed."

Senior Rick Deichert finished with 12 points for Maumee Valley, while Jared Sturt and Jonathan Krueger each added 10. Sturt also had four blocks and pulled down nine rebounds.

Deichert drained two 3-pointers in the first half to give the Hawks a 31-16 lead.

"We have two kids that can really shoot it, and we were able to get those shots," Maumee Valley coach Jim Robinson said. "We hit a number of 3s early and that gave us the lead. To be down 15 on the road at the half against a good team, which I think we are, is difficult."

Toledo Christian, which had won six straight, fell to 8-5 overall and 6-3 in the TAAC. Eric Cellier, the TAAC's leading scorer, tallied a game-high 20 points for the Eagles. Cellier had 18 in the second half. Josh Winzeler chipped in with 15 for TC.

"They had seven first half 3s, and it's hard to beat a team when they get on a roll like that," Toledo Christian coach Dave McWhinnie said. "They were ready to go right from the get go. Maumee Valley is so well coached, when they get a double-digit lead, you have to fight like crazy to get back. And you won't come back very often."

After Toledo Christian took its only lead of the game at 2-0, Maumee Valley went on an 8-0 run. The Hawks parlayed that into a 13-2 spurt to seize a 13-4 lead. Krueger, Turner, and Deichert all nailed 3 pointers during the pivotal push.

Turner added his second 3-pointer to give his Hawks a 10-point edge late in the opening quarter.

"Big shots were important," Turner said. "I felt that to give my team a good shot at winning, I had to shoot pretty well. The team got me the ball, and I had open looks and I knocked it down."

A long off-balanced, desperation 3-pointer by Winzeler that went in off the backboard gave the Eagles some hope at the first quarter buzzer as they pulled within six.

But Turner and Deichert tallied back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second quarter to put Maumee Valley up 22-10.

Turner knocked down another 3 pointer as Maumee Valley outscored TC 15-6 in the second quarter.

The Hawks seized a 23-point lead, its biggest of the game, early in the third quarter as they opened the second half with a 10-2 run.

But Toledo Christian showed resiliency to embark on a 9-0 run to close the quarter and the gap to 15 points.

"Those kids from TC fight until the end," Robinson said.

The Eagles outscored Maumee Valley by two in the second half. The Hawks turned the ball over 11 times over the final two quarters.

"We talk about playing Toledo Christian basketball," McWhinnie said. "We will play 32 minutes every night. That is tough basketball, and we did that tonight. They just made some plays in the first half."

Maumee Valley had knocked TC off 43-42 on the road on Dec. 13. The Hawks also handed Gibsonburg its first league loss on Tuesday.

"It was a big week for us," Sturt said. "We wanted to come out with two wins in two big games. We practiced hard for this."

Maumee Valley is seeking its first TAAC title since 2002 and the Hawks play at Ottawa Hills on Tuesday. The Hawks defeated the Green Bears 51-39 in the first meeting.

"This is a tough stretch for us," Robinson said. "We've had a tough grind here. So we'll take this."

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354, or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.