Houn’ Dawgs claim No. 4

It has been something that the Dawgs have eyed the last three years. After falling in the district title game the last three years, the Dawgs earned the elusive fourth district title in school history and first since 2009 after defeating Mt. Vernon 70-29.

Aurora vs. Monett
After Monett was victorious in their opening round game against Seneca, it was an all Lawrence County affair as the top seeded Aurora Houn Dawgs was next to take on the Cubs. The opening quarter was a tight one as Monett’s balanced attack and Aurora’s Cannon Thornhill battled back and forth. The second quarter was a different story as Cannon Thornhill exploded to wrap up his game-high 17 first half points for the Dawgs. A big run at the end of the half gave the Dawgs a 48-30 advantage at the break.
Defense led to the first few points of the second half as Kaden Cole capitalized on a steal and score on the other end. The typically explosive offense was relatively quiet in the second half as the Dawgs flirted with the turbo clock for the majority of the fourth quarter to secure the 73-49 victory.
Aurora was led in scoring by Cannon Thornhill with 20 points, followed by 13 from Thomas Lara and 11 from Jayden Carpenter. Cameron Whitener is closing in on the school’s career assist record but he chipped in 10 points ahead of nine from Landon Boatwright. Kaden Cole added four and Toa Yandall and Memphis Mooneyham chipped in three.
Monett was led in scoring by Alex Meeks with 16 points followed by MSSU football signee Landyn Brandt with 12. Landon Thrasher, Logan Kutz and Jayden Apostol each had six and wrapping up scoring was Camden Towles with three.
Monett ends their season 14-14 for the season after the semifinal loss. With the end of the season comes the end of the careers of Landon Thrasher, Parker Messer, Logan Kutz,  Jayden Apostol, and Landyn Brandt. The five seniors finished their careers with 48 wins.

Mt. Vernon vs. Cassville
After Aurora’s resounding victory, it was another Lawrence County squad taking the floor, the second seeded Mt. Vernon Mt’neers taking on the Cassville Wildcats. The Mt’neers struggled early with Cassville’s 6’9” behemoth Eli Stokes as he put the Cats up 6-2 early on. From that moment on it was all Mt. Vernon. A balanced attack from the Mt’neers allowed for a 16-15 lead after one quarter. The insane balance continued for Mt. Vernon as the leading scorer for the Mt’neers had seven at half with three others at six. Mt. Vernon extended their lead to 40-23 at the halftime break.
Cassville started making their comeback behind a huge quarter from Eli Stokes. Cassville quickly erased a 19-point Mt. Vernon lead down to 11 before a timeout was called. Another bucket from Stokes put down a couple more baskets before Mt. Vernon was able to extend the lead back out thanks to a three from Jarrett Zerby. The Mt’neers managed to put the lead back out to 11 at the third quarter horn taking a 55-44 lead into the fourth. Cassville started hot again as a three and a bucket from Stokes cut the lead to just six early in the quarter. Zerby took exception to that and answered with a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions. With the lead back in double figures, Mt. Vernon was able to cruise the rest of the way for the 55-44 victory and to set up the Highway 39 battle for the district championship.
Zerby led the scoring for the Mt’neers with 27 followed by 14 points from Hunter Dawson and 10 from Lucas Shoen. Hudson Gaddy had nine, Quinten Smiles had seven and Juliun Hernandez had five.
 
Mt. Vernon vs. Aurora
It was two heated rivals with a district title on the line as the Mt’neers and the Houn’ Dawgs met for the second time this season. Mt. Vernon was looking for their first district title in seven years while the Dawgs drought more than doubles that span. Aurora has not hoisted that trophy since 2009, and only four times ever.
The Dawgs were without star junior Cannon Thornhill for the first half but it did not affect the Dawgs offense, as Landon Boatwright picked up the slack as Aurora jumped to a 28-6 lead in the first half. The Mt’neers had no answer for the Dawgs as Aurora cruised to a 70-29 massacre in the district championship game.
Aurora improved to 20-8 for the season and advanced to the sectional game that was played Monday in Rogersville.
The Mt’neers finished the season 18-9 after enjoying their best season since 2020, that also ended as the district runner up. A big group of seven seniors saw their careers end Friday night. Hudson Gaddy, Juliun Hernandez, Tannor Lutes, Luke Robbins, Conner Short, Quinten Smiles and Jarrett Zerby all have played a big role in a turnaround that saw the Mt’neers win just 15 games in their freshman and sophomore seasons combined to finishing the last two years with 14 or more.