Mt’neers take bronze in Diamond’s Gem City Classic/ Lady Mt'neers take 7th in Fair Grove Tournament

Mt. Vernon Mt’neers took third place at the Diamond Gem City Classic with a win Saturday night against McAuley Catholic 73-49.
Mt. Vernon opened up the tournament as the No. 3 seed against Lighthouse Christian. The offense was clicking for the Mt’neers as the Green Machine downed Lighthouse 63-50. In the semifinal game, Mt. Vernon took on a Springfield Catholic team that is coached by SWMO basketball royalty in former Nixa head coach Jay Osborne. Coach Osborne’s squad was too much for the Mt’neers to handle as the Irish defeated Mt. Vernon 68-40 in the semifinal game.
Mt. Vernon concluded the tournament on Saturday against McAuley Catholic and the Mt’neers put on a true two-way dominating performance in a 73-49 shellacking of the Warriors.
Mt. Vernon opens the season 2-1 with a third place trophy in Diamond. The Mt’neers opened up their home slate Monday as the 0-2 Crane Pirates came to town. They will return to the court Friday with a road trip to Cassville to open up Big 8 play.
Lady Mt’neers take seventh in Fair Grove Tournament
The Mt. Vernon Lady Mt’neers picked up a win over the Ava Lady Bears to conclude a seventh-place finish in the very tough Fair Grove Lady Eagles Invitational Saturday.
Mt. Vernon opened the tournament against one of the top teams in Class 5 in the West Plains Lady Zizzers. The duo of Olivia Lawson and Allyssa Joyner was too much for the Lady Mt’neers as West Plains cruised to a 66-18 win. The loss set up a consolation semifinal game against another Class 5 squad power in Lebanon. The Lady Jackets posed a very tough matchup with size that the Lady Mt’neers was unable to match in a 77-59 defeat. The Lady Mt’neers were able to return to the win column Saturday against Ava 54-37 in the seventh place game.
Mt. Vernon moves to 2-2 for the season as the girls get ready to open up Big 8 Play. They traveled to Cassville on Tuesday for their lone game of the week. They will be back in action Dec. 11 in Forsyth.