Mt. Vernon basketball struggles continue as girls pick up first win

Basketball in Mt. Vernon has experienced a rough patch to begin this season, although fortunes may be changing.

Boys
The boys opened with a shocking loss to Monett, in a game where the Cubs shot lights out behind the arc. They then dropped all three games in a very tough Branson tournament where they fell to Mountain Home, Ark., Lake Hamilton, Ark. and Branson.
They only had one game to get back on track last week as Crane came to town. After a hard fought game, the Mt’neers forced overtime against a very good Crane team. Unfortunately for the Mt’neers, they fell to the pirates to move their record to 0-5. They are back in action Thursday, as they take on Lawrence County rival Aurora in the Backyard Brawl, where they hope to snag their first win.

Girls
The girls team has had its own struggles, dropping an early season matchup with Nevada before also going winless in the Branson shootout against Branson and two of the best 5A teams in Arkansas, in opponents Mountain Home and Lake Hamilton. They only had one game last week as they fought their way into the win column, with a 31-19 victory over Neosho. The Lady Mt'neers moved to 1-4 on the young season.
The Mt. Vernon girls have played fantastic defense so far this year, and will have to continue to do so as they hosted a good Forsyth team Monday, before going to Kansas City for the 12 Courts of Christmas, Saturday, when they take on Capital City High.