Mt. Vernon battles but can’t get the job done in Springfield

In the Blue Division of the Blue & Gold Tournament, the Mt’neers looked to get back on track but had a tough road as they ultimately dropped both games.
The Mt’neers opened against a Camdenton squad who came into the tournament 8-0 on the year. The Mt’neers brought the fight to the Lakers to the tune of tough defense, but the high octane offense of Camdenton put the Lakers back in the lead after one, 13-0. Sophomore Jarrett Zerby had a great showing finishing the game with a team high 13 points. Mt. Vernon got things rolling, slowing down the Lakers attack and cutting the lead to 8 points, but Camdenton rolled on 56-44.
This set up a showdown with a depleted Buffalo team coming off a 35-point loss to Hartville. Mt. Vernon started fast behind six points from junior Landon Jones and Mt. Vernon held a 17-16 point lead after one. The offense of the Mt’neers struggled in the second quarter and Buffalo capitalized taking the lead. Despite several late attempts where Mt. Vernon erased a double figure deficit to just two points, Buffalo ended up on top 63-57.
The Mt’neers fall to 2-7 on the year with two match-ups this week. They opened Tuesday night at home against Diamond before taking on Lamar in a Big-8 bout on Friday.

Lady Mountaineers' hiatus continues
The Lady Mt’neers have not played since Dec. 12 due to a plethora of issues including injury, illness and three girls no longer being part of the program. Their last outing was a 41-34 loss to Forsyth and since then have had games against East Newton and Osage postponed. They were slated to play in the Pink & White Tournament but were forced to drop out of this year’s event due to illness.
The Lady Mt’neers hope to be back in action Thursday, as Lamar is slated to come to town but no word has been given if that game will take place as scheduled.