Mayfield, DeGrave help Panthers knock off rust from lenghty layoff, pull away from Pirates

MONROE CITY, Mo. — Quincy Mayfield took matters into his own hands, and the Monroe City boys basketball team fed off of his assertiveness.

With Monroe City leading Hannibal 12-10 and 30 seconds to go in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game at the Monroe City High School gym, Mayfield turned a steal into a fastbreak layup to double the Panthers’ lead. Mayfield then drained a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second quarter and converted an old fashioned three-point play 35 seconds later. 

“That was just me tyring to get some momentum,” said Mayfield, a junior guard. “I personally don’t think we’re only two points better than Hannibal in a quarter, so sometimes you just have to get something started.”

A two-point advantage turned into 10 in just 80 seconds of game time, and the Panthers, the No. 7-ranked team in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 poll, rode that momentum to a 66-49 victory.

“(Mayfield) does everything for us,” Monroe City sophomore guard Wyatt DeGrave said. “He scores, he gets us open shots. We play really well off of him.”

After Mayfield’s 8-0 personal run, DeGrave caught fire. He scored 18 of his 20 points from that moment onward, including making three 3-pointers. Those 20 points matched a career high DeGrave set on Jan. 23, 2024, against Highland.

“I’ve been shooting a whole lot lately. I just have 100 percent confidence every time I get it. That’s really helped a lot,” DeGrave said. “It’s just confidence, knowing I can make any shot. Just keep shooting.”

DeGrave nearly set a new career points mark, but Hannibal senior forward Clayton Neisen had other ideas. Sitting on 20 points midway through the fourth quarter, DeGrave sprung free in transition and rose up for a dunk, but Neisen pinned the ball against the backboard, denying DeGrave of the dunk and the personal best.

“I was really trying (to set a new career high),” DeGrave said.

DeGrave started the Panthers’ first game of the season against Moberly, but he has played every game off the bench since.

“To have somebody like that can come off the bench and bring offense, a lot of teams don’t have that,” Panthers coach Brock Edris said of DeGrave. “His size and athletic ability make a big difference. He’s able to play at the top of our press, get some tips and create some havoc.”

While DeGrave has accepted his bench role, he is itching to get back in the starting lineup.

“I’d definitely rather start,” DeGrave said. “I didn’t play well at the beginning of the year, so I have to earn it back.”

Mayfield only managed a single free throw in the second half after scoring 19 points in the first half, but he put his ability to score on all three levels on full display in those opening 16 minutes. Mayfield knocked down two 3-pointers, made multiple contested mid-range jumpers and got to the rim almost at will. 

“Quincy’s super quick,” Edris said. “He did a good job of attacking close-outs. When people were coming out on him, he was doing a good job of shot-faking, ripping and going to the basket. He was explosive at the rim.”

Mayfield put that exlopsiveness to the test when he got the ball at the left elbow with eight seconds left in the first half, blew by his defender, split Neisen and Zach Locke in the air near the right block, and flipped the ball high off the backboard and in to give the Panthers a 39-23 halftime lead. The Pirates (2-8) never got closer than 13 points in the second half.

“I just caught the ball and knew I had to get downhill,” Mayfield said. “I hit the top right of the backboard, so I had to put some type of spin on it to make it go left.”

Pirates coach Josh Pickett said when Mayfield is firing on all cylinders, like he was on Tuesday, he becomes a matchup nightmare.

“He’s the type of player that if he’s hitting jumpers, he’s really hard to guard,” Pickett said. “He’s got a great first step, he gets to his spots. He’s just tough. Unfortunately, we made things kind of easy on him. We let him get to his right hand, let him get downhill a little easier that what we would have liked, but he’s an outstanding player.”

Before Tuesday, the Panthers (9-1) hadn’t played in 25 days, their last game coming against Payson Seymour on Dec. 20 at the Rumble on the River. The Panthers were scheduled to play in the Clopton Hawk Invitational beginning Jan. 6, but that tournament was canceled due to snow.

“I think there’s always a rust after a long break, but at least we’ve got a game under our belts in 2025,” said Edris, whose team will face Jefferson City Helias on Wednesday. “Hopefully we don’t miss any more games.”