Mt’neer boys’ basketball finishes fourth in Clever Tournament

The Mt. Vernon High School boys’ basketball team traveled to Clever last week to take part in the 92nd Annual Clever Boys Invitational, finishing in fourth place in the tournament.
In the third-place game, the Mt’neers fell to Clever 47-41 on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Mt. Vernon led 14-5 after the first quarter and 21-16 at the half. A 16-point third quarter, increased the Mt’neers lead to 37-27 lead heading into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter, the Jays clamped down on defense and only allowed 4 points to Mt. Vernon as they put up 20 points to win the game by six points.
Hunter Dawson led with 13 points and Lucas Schoen added 11 points in the loss.
“Unfortunately, we came up short in this game after having a great start,” said head coach Ryan Worley. “We played well for about three-and-a-half quarters but Clever’s pressure created turnovers and easy baskets which allowed them to climb back into the game. For two games now we have allowed an opponent’s pressure to speed us up creating big runs for them. The coaches and players recognize this is an area we need to focus on and we have all the confidence that this group will learn to close games like these out.  The experience we gained from this and our Marshfield game will be very beneficial to our future success.”
On Thursday, Dec. 4, the Mt’neers lost to Marshfield 81-53. The game was tied 17-17 after the first quarter and Mt. Vernon only trailed by 3 points at the half, 34-31. A 28-point third quarter by the Blue Jays increased the Marshfield lead to 62-41. In the fourth quarter Marshfield outscored Mt. Vernon 19-12.
Dawson paced the Mt’neers with 16 points and Hunter Conway added 15 points.
“We allowed Marshfield’s full court pressure to speed us up throughout the game,” said Worley. “Particularly in the third quarter. We competed very well for three quarters of this game against a very good opponent.  As some of our new varsity players gain experience, we will hopefully learn to put together four quarters with the effort and focus needed to compete against the best teams on our schedule.”
Mt. Vernon opened the Tournament by defeating RUSH Senior High Home School 71-62. The Mt’neers led 21-14 after the first quarter and 33-25 at the half. Mt. Vernon added 14 points in the third quarter and 24 points in the fourth to close out the nine-point victory.
Dawson led with 18 points, Ty Eidemiller and Schoen both had 16 points and Conway ended the game with 13 points.
“This was a good start to the season for our team with four guys scoring in double figures,” said Worley. “We took care of the ball well only having 11 turnovers as a team while doing a great job of sharing the ball which showed in the 19 total assists, we had.  Limiting our team turnovers will give us a chance to compete night in and night out.”
Mt. Vernon is 1-2 on the season and were scheduled to play against Crane last night and will travel to Diamond on Friday night.

Girls’ basketball
The Lady Mt’neers spent last week playing in the Fair Grove Invitational winning the seventh-place game to close out the tournament.
On Friday Dec. 5, Mt. Vernon defeated host Fair Grove 53-50.
The Lady Mt’neers led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter and 25-23 at the half. Mt. Vernon increased their lead in the third quarter by adding 10 points to go up, 35-30. Fair Grove battled back in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points, but Mt. Vernon had 18 points to win the game by three points.
Ellie Eddington had a double-double, scoring 26 points and getting 10 rebounds. Emmie Schubert added 8 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
“This was a great team win over a historically dominant program,” said head coach Alexis Cauthon. We played together, stayed connected, and started correcting the things that had been holding us back. Elli had a standout game, but every player contributed and competed all the way to the final buzzer. It was a true step forward for our group.”
On Thursday, Dec. 4 the Lady Mt’neers lost to Clever 72-47. Clever scored 25 points in the first quarter, but the Lady Mt’neers answered with 17 points. An eight-point second quarter saw Mt. Vernon fall behind 44-25 at the half.
Mt. Vernon scored 12 points in the third quarter and 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Clever scored 13 and 15 points.
Schubert led with 19 points and Kenley Eidemiller had 17 points in the loss.
“We had too many unforced errors, and that impacted the outcome,” said Cauthon. “But we also showed meaningful growth with our offensive presence and on the glass. With the quick turnaround, our focus was on applying what we learned, cleaning up our execution, and preparing to compete at a higher level the next day.”
Mt. Vernon opened the tournament with a 79-21 loss to Hillcrest on Monday, Dec. 1. The Lady Mt’neers scored 5 points in the first quarter, 4 points in the second quarter and 12 points in the third quarter. Schubert led with eight points and five rebounds.
“We knew we were up against a very talented and fundamentally sound team,” said Cauthon. “And while the result wasn’t what we wanted, our focus stays the same. We’re learning how to compete together, stay connected in our sisterhood, and keep taking steps forward. We’ll take what we learned and turn our attention to getting better for our next game on Thursday.”
Mt. Vernon is 1-3 on the season and were scheduled to host Glendale on Monday night.