Mt. Vernon boys basketball defeats Parkview, falls to Hartville

Lady Mt’neers drop games to Lebanon and West Plains, don’t play again until Jan. 5 tilt against Nevada
 

The Mt. Vernon High School boys basketball team played three games last week, traveling to Springfield for the Blue and Gold Tournament and hosting Fair Grove earlier in the week.
On Saturday, Dec. 27, the Mt’neers lost to Hartville in the quarterfinals of the Blue and Gold Tournament 61-43.
The Eagles led 18-7 after the first quarter but Mt. Vernon battled back in the second quarter, outscoring Hartville 11-8 to cut the lead to 26-18 by halftime. In the third quarter, the Eagles started out fast and kept shooting well, hitting for 20 points to increase their lead to 45-29. The Mt’neers scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, but Hartville bested them by one point to win the game 61-43,
Hunter Conway led Mt. Vernon with 15 points and Lucas Schoen added 11 points in the game.
On Friday, Dec. 26, the Mt’neers defeated Parkview 49-46 in an opening round game of the tournament.
The Vikings led 12-7 after the first quarter but Mt. Vernon cut that lead to 24-23 by the half. In the third quarter, the Mt’neers doubled up Parkview, 10-5 to take a 33-29 lead into the final quarter of play. The Vikings scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, but Mt. Vernon was able to almost match them, scoring 16 points of their own to win the game by three.
Conway led Mt. Vernon with 12 points.
The Mt’neers hosted Fair Grove on Monday, Dec. 22 and lost the game 57-46.
The Eagles led 21-11 after the first quarter and 32-17 at halftime. Both teams scored eight points each in the third quarter. In the final quarter of play, the Mt’neers offense came alive, hitting for 21 points. Fair Grove scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to win the game by nine.
Hunter Dawson led with 15 points and Griffen Cordray had 14 points in the game.
“We got off to a slow start, but I give a lot of credit to Fair Grove for coming out ready to play,” said head coach Ryan Worley. “We had some good looks at the basket but couldn’t get a shot to fall for us in the first half. Our team did a great job of stepping up in the second half and competing with energy and toughness, even though we continued to struggle to make some easy shots around the basket. After the game we just stressed to the team that we want to compete as hard as we did in the third and fourth from the tip-off.  If we can maintain that level of defensive energy, knowing that we will have some of those shots fall for us most nights, then we should start to see these games have some different outcomes.‚“
Mt. Vernon is 4-6 on the season and were scheduled to play against Ozark on Monday night in the Blue and Gold Tournament.

Girls basketball
The Lady Mt’neers made the trip to Springfield to compete in the Pink and White Tournament last week but lost both of their contests.
Mt. Vernon lost to Lebanon on Saturday, 58-49. They opened the tournament on Friday and fell to West Plains, 89-47.
The Lady Zizzers led 24-12 after the first quarter and 44-17 at halftime. Mt. Vernon did shoot better in the second half, scoring 16 points in the third quarter and 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Elli Eddington led Mt. Vernon with 14 points and Emily Schubert had 11 points in the loss.
The Lady Mt’neers are now 2-7 on the season and do not play again until Jan. 5.