Jevon Knox buried a baseline jumper with 0.4 seconds left to send the Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team to a 71-70 victory at Huntington on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Knox’s shot came after he missed an initial go-ahead shot attempt. He scooped up the loose-ball rebound off the floor, turned and shot a fade-away jumper to beat the clock.
MVNU (2-0, 2-0) trailed by as many as seven points late in the second half and closed the game on a 9-2 run over the final two minutes and 48 seconds to overcome a five-point deficit.
Knox had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists; Kyle Kegley went for 22 points, 14 rebounds and three steals; and Clay Hilliard added 11 points and three assists off the bench to lead the Cougars.
Zach Goodline had 21 points and six rebounds, Caleb Middlesworth added 19 points and four boards, and Hank Pulver chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Foresters (6-1, 1-1), who led 33-31 at the break.
Girls basketball
Brylinn Tuggle buried a pair of free throws with 45.5 seconds remaining to give Highland all the points they needed in a 41-39 victory over Fredericktown in Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play in Sparta on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Tuggle finished with 13 points for the game on the strength of three 3-pointers in the second half. Savannah Fitzpatrick led the Scots (2-1, 1-1) with 15 points, knocking down three from long range as well.
Jill Bouton scored 13 points and Grace Sipes added 12 points for the Freddies (1-3, 0-2), who led 19-14 at the break.
Utica 59, Granville Christian 35
Shawna Blake caught fire, scoring a game-high 26 points to lead Utica to its first win, 59-36 over Granville Christian in non-league play on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Fifth Street gym in Newark.
Blake had eight steals and seven assists and Riley Thompson added 13 points for Utica (1-4), which blew the game open with a 20-6 third quarter.
Darynne Zellar had nine points, eight rebounds and five steals and Riley Shirtzinger added eight points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (0-2).
Mount Gilead 45, Centerburg 39
Candace Millisor scored 12 points and Isabella Schroeter added 10 points to lead host Mount Gilead (4-1, 2-1) to a 45-39 win over Centerburg in KMAC on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Rebecca Scholl scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Trojans (2-1, 1-1), including their only field goal of the fourth quarter – a 3-pointer.
Wrestling
Utica opened the season with a split at home against Big Walnut and Thomas Worthington on Saturday, Dec. 5, beating the Golden Eagles, 36-33 before falling to the Cardinals, 47-25.
Wesley Wydick (120 pounds), Brock Wygle (126), Clayton Smith (132), Zach Cyphers (160) and Dylan Cooperrider (285) all went undefeated on the day for Utica.
Wydick defeated Big Walnut’s Andrew Parker 4-0 and Thomas’ Channing Thornton 8-4, Wygle beat BW’s Vince Giordano 6-3 and won by forfeit against the Cardinals, Smith got a pair of pins against BW’s Nicholas DelGreco and Thomas’ Charlie Erickson, Cyphers pinned Eagle Micah Tillar and beat Thomas’ Isaiah Bowers by 19-9 decision and Cooperider pinned BW’s Avery Looney and won by forfeit over Thomas to highlight Utica’s effort.
Boys bowling
David Balling and Trevor Bell led Mount Vernon to a 1,929-1,769 win over host Fredericktown in non-league play at Trio Lanes on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Bell rolled a game-high 195 with Balling close behind at 193. Balling ended up rolling a 361 series, just three pins better than Bell, who rolled a 358 series to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Fredericktown’s Griffin Wayne rolled a series-best 369.
Girls bowling
Macy Neer’s 311 series led Fredericktown to a 1,704-1,153 victory over Mount Vernon in non-league play at Trio Lanes on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Jace Kyle rolled a game-high 176 and a series-high 312 to lead the Yellow Jackets, who were down a bowler.
