Prep boys basketball: Impressive numbers little solace for Makol

Prep boys basketball » Granger finished the season 1-19.

By Neal K. Warner

| Special to The Tribune

First Published Feb 20 2013 02:10 pm • Last Updated Feb 20 2013 02:10 pm

Makol Mawien gladly would give up his 32-point, 10-rebound performance against Hunter.

He would have no problem trading in his 20-point, 11-rebound effort against West and his 20-point night against Viewmont for just one thing:

A win — to have a victory dance that actually was followed by a victory.

If winning can become a habit, so can losing, and this is one habit that Makol is determined to break.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore from Granger is having a season to remember — and one he also would like to forget.

His individual success has given the Lancers hope for a brighter future, but it has not translated into wins this season. Granger lost its 12th straight game when it came up short against Hunter on Tuesday. The loss dropped Granger to 1-19 this season.

"We only have one senior on the team, so we should be good next year, but there’s not much comfort in losing," Mawien said. "I’m just trying to play hard and look for things that I can do to help us win. We’ve been close in most of our games. We’ve just got to pull together and get through it."

As impressive as he’s been in many games this year, his best game was against Mountain View, not because he scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but because he helped his team get a win.

"We try to get him the ball as much as possible," Granger coach Bernie Graziano said. "We try to get him in positions where he can score. One thing he’s learning is how to make good decisions with the ball because he’s getting double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed."

Makol plans on refining his game in the offseason by getting stronger and improving the consistency of his shot. If he can do that, his 11.7-point scoring average should increase, and so should his team’s chances of getting back to the state tournament after a two-year absence.

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