Zerby shines as Mt’neers claim third in Gem City Classic

Mt. Vernon sophomore Jarrett Zerby exploded for 19 points against Galena in the third place game of the Gem City Classic, Saturday as the Mt’neers defeated the Bears, 61-53.
The Mt’neers opened the tournament with a 40-30 win over Sarcoxie in the opening round of the tournament on Monday night. The semifinal matchup Wednesday was not as kind to the Mt’neers, as they fell to eventual champions El Dorado Springs, 50-34, despite five threes by Zerby. This set up a third place matchup against Galena who upset three seed, and host, Diamond in the opening round.
The Mt’neers were balanced early on as four Mt’neers got on the board, but it was Galena who held a 16-12 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
Zerby was able to hit a pair of threes in the second quarter to take an early second quarter lead. The Mt’neer defense stepped up and held the Bears to just seven points in the second quarter. A late 5-0 run by senior Clayton Turner and a three by Zerby gave the Mt’neers a 27-23 lead at the half.
The scoring pace picked up in the third quarter as another quarter of balanced scoring put pressure on Galena. Galena answered by using their defense as a catalyst for easy run out opportunities. An 8-2 Galena run to end the quarter cut the once 11-point lead down to just five going into the final quarter.
Mt. Vernon and Galena struggled to get the offenses churning in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined for just five buckets combined. However, threes from Zerby and Turner, and a bucket from Caleb Rinker gave Mt. Vernon enough cushion to force Galena to foul. The Mt’neers hit enough of them down the stretch to secure the 61-53 win.
The Mt’neers move to 2-1 on the year with their third-place finish. They will have a busy week this week as they travel to Crane Tuesday before retuning home to take on Cassville Thursday.

Mt. Vernon scoring vs. Galena:
Jarrett Zerby 19, Clayton Turner 15, Landon Jones 12, Caleb Rinker 7, Julian Hernandez 4, Braxton Horton 4.