Mavericks Basketball 2021-22

The North Country Mavericks welcome back only one starter from last year, a year in which the team made the Eastern C Divisional tournament but fell in the consolation round to the Fairview Eagles.

The team will be without Loden Idler, Jesse Lee, Beau Simonson, and Jon Rey Taylor who graduated last year. Idler and Simonson were named to the All-Conference list last year. The team will also welcome a new head coach, Barry Malone, who has coached the Mavericks in years prior to 2020. Malone replaces former coach Taylor Olson who moved to Billings.

The Mavericks only welcome back one starter, Trey Johnson, a 6'5" senior, who has started for the team since his sophomore season.

Coach Malone defined Johnson as a solid player and a decent shooter.

The team also welcomes back senior Aiden Albus, who saw playing time last year.

"He works tremendously hard and gives us another presence at the post position," Coach Malone said.

After Johnson and Albus, comes a drop-off of experience and a handful of youth. The final three starters named are all freshmen. This includes Blaine Downing, Kade Strommen, and Coy Bowman.

"Our next three, Blaine, Kade, and Coy, are all freshmen that are expected to step up and fill some big shoes from last year," Coach Malone said. "They have some speed and I expect them to improve greatly with much more playing time."

The team welcomes back two sophomores in Marshall Caves and Andrew Boucher that didn't see much time on the court last year.

"Marshall and Andrew will need to help us at the guard and post positions, respectively," Coach Malone said. "We round out with Taylor Mogan, Walker Albus, Korbyn Skubinna (all freshman), and 8th Grader, Austin Hanley. Taylor Mogan is a transfer that we are waiting on information to determine eligibility. Most of these players will round out our JV once we get to regular-season contests."

The young team has started their 2021-22 campaign with a losing streak to pretty tough opponents. This includes a 61-38 loss to Plentywood at the Glasgow Showcase on Friday, December 3; a 70-35 loss to Richey-Lambert on Saturday, December 4; a 46-22 loss to Fort Benton in Lewistown on Friday, December 10, and a 58-29 loss to Winifred-Roy on Saturday, December 11.

The Mavericks will travel to Dodson this week to face the Dodson Coyotes on Friday, December 17. The varsity game starts at 7:30 p.m. They will then host the Circle Wildcats in Saco on Saturday, December 18, at 5 p.m.