Mt’neer basketball advances to finals of Stockton Tournament

Mt. Vernon defeats Lamar, Buffalo in tourney, will battle Marshfield Blue Jays tomorrow
 
The Mt. Vernon High School boys basketball team traveled to Stockton to take part in the Stockton Tournament last week.
The Mt’neers played Lamar in the semifinals of the Stockton Tournament on Friday, Jan. 23 and won the game 70-67 in overtime.
Mt. Vernon led 15-13 after the first quarter and 31-26 at the half. The Tigers outscored Mt. Vernon 13-9 in the third quarter to pull within one point, 40-39. In the fourth quarter both teams shot the ball well, but Lamar outscored Mt. Vernon 17-16 to tie the game at 56-56 to force overtime. In the overtime period, Mt. Vernon was able to outscore Lamar 14-11 to win the game by three points.
Hunter Conway led Mt. Vernon with 22 points and Lucas Schoen added 17 points in the win.
“I have always used stats to help both the coaches and players find areas to make improvements in,” said head coach Ryan Worley. “But what the stats don’t show is a team’s competitive spirit or mental toughness to find a way to win. This team has shown that competitive fight all season, no matter the score, no matter our opponent and they did just that in tonight’s game. We had multiple guys step up to hit big shots, free throws and make key defensive plays to put us in a position to win. This was a very hard-fought TEAM win tonight, and the coaches couldn’t be prouder of the players for figuring out a way to stay in the fight vs. a very good Lamar team.”
Mt. Vernon opened the tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 20 by defeating Buffalo 56-52.
Buffalo led 12-10 after the first quarter but the Mt’neers were able to pull even in the second quarter to tie the game at 24-24 at the half. The Mt’neers were able to take a four-point, 41-37 lead by the end of the third quarter. Both teams scored 15 points each in the fourth quarter, giving Mt. Vernon the four-point victory.
Hunter Dawson paced Mt. Vernon with 17 points and Conway had 16 points in the win.
“The guys did a great job of taking care of the ball tonight with only having seven turnovers,” said Worley. “That allowed us to be more consistent offensively for the entirety of the game which allowed our points scored in each quarter to be balanced. Buffalo is a tough team to match-up against because of their size in the post and quickness on the perimeter. I thought the guys did a great job of helping each other out in our defensive rotations. At times we can also have a large gap between our top two rebounders and the next guys. Tonight, we did a great job of finishing our defensive possession by rebounding as a team. What I’m most proud of though is how we figured out how to get a win on a night when we didn’t shoot the ball well as a whole. Anytime we can keep our turnovers low, play connected on defense and have everyone engaged in rebounding, we will give ourselves a chance to come away with a win.”
The Mt’neers are 8-8 on the season and were scheduled to play against Aurora last night before traveling to Stockton to play in the tournament championship game against Stockton tonight and Marshfield tomorrow night.

Girls basketball
The Lady Mt’neers traveled to Marionville last week to play in the Lady Comet Classic.
On Thursday, Jan. 22, Mt. Vernon lost in a close game to Monett 53-49.
The Lady Mt’neers led 20-8 after the first quarter but Monett battled back in the second quarter to take a one-point lead at the half, 29-28. The Lady Cubs played good defense in the third quarter, allowing Mt. Vernon to score eight points, while picking up 10 points of their own to lead the game by three points heading into the final quarter of play. The Lady Mt’neers battled to the end but came up just short after scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Elli Eddington led Mt.Vernon with 18 points and nine rebounds in the game.
“It was a tough loss where foul trouble really disrupted our rhythm,” said head coach Alexis Cauthon. “Combined with some struggles finishing around the basket, we just didn’t get the result we were hoping for. When you’re in a physical game, you have to be able to convert those high-percentage looks and stay disciplined. We’ll take this as a learning experience, get back to work on our execution, and make sure we’re ready to finish stronger in our next outing.”
Mt. Vernon opened the tournament against Class 3, fourth ranked Ash Grove, on Monday, Jan. 19, and lost to the Lady Pirates, 35-22.
Ash Grove led 11-4 after the first quarter and 15-8 at the half. Mt. Vernon outscored the Lady Pirates 9-8 in the third quarter, but Ash Grove was able to put up 12 points in the final quarter of play to seal the win.
Eddington paced Mt. Vernon with 15 points.
“Holding a state-ranked opponent with that much offensive firepower to just 35 points is a testament to how connected we were defensively,” said Cauthon. “When we play with that level of grit, we can compete with anyone. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t finish our shots and had a hard time taking care of the ball, which made it difficult to capitalize on our defensive effort. It’s a tough loss, but it proved exactly what we’re capable of when we’re locked in.
Mt. Vernon is 4-11 on the season and were scheduled to play against Aurora on Monday night before they travel to Class 4, fourth ranked Logan-Rogersville tomorrow night.