MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon boys basketball coach Nick Coon knew Licking Heights would use a stifling defense and attack on offense. Both of those things came to fruition as the Hornets had 18 steals and forced 22 turnovers to run the game with a 69-32 win over the Yellow Jackets in a non-league play on Friday, Jan. 8 at the Hive.
“They’re playing really good basketball, inspired basketball with a high-pressure defense,” Coon said. “We knew if we handled the pressure effectively, we’d have a chance and if we didn’t … I don’t know if we thought it could get that bad. But it was pretty bad.”
Donte Collier came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points to lead Heights. He added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocks to his ledger.
Jaivon Miller had 12 points, seven rebounds and three helpers. Denero Warner chipped in nine points, a game-best five steals, two rebounds and a pair of assists for the Hornets (6-4), who have turned their season around 180 degrees with their current six-game winning streak.
“We call our defense the ‘Sting Defense’,” Heights coach Shaun Fountain said. “As a coach, you find what suits your team the best. We started with some running, getting up (in opponents faces), making guys angry – but just playing, having fun, playing loose (and) not thinking a whole lot.”
It’s a complete departure from what Fountain is used to after playing his college ball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under Bo Ryan.
“We’ve tried some different ways,” Fountain said. “To start the season, we tried a traditional three guard, two big (lineup). We had some good things with it, but it just wasn’t good for our team.
“So, I dove into some film. I looked at when we were really good – a lot of times it was when we were down trying to come back in a game. I was like, ‘You know what? We can just play like that all the time.’ We did a lot of running because when you play like that, you have to be in shape.”
The new style did not suit Mount Vernon, which had seven turnovers in the first quarter. A couple of 3-pointers kept by Hudson Rohler and Blake Meyer pulled the Jackets within 12-8 with 1:24 left in the frame. But Heights responded with a 14-4 run that went into the second quarter and Mount Vernon never got within 10 again.
"We have to learn from it because that pressure was good, but we did a very poor job of handling it,” Coon said. “Ultimately, that responsibility falls on me of getting our team ready to play. We didn’t do a good enough job of getting our kids ready to play in that type of game.”
Blake Meyer kept the Yellow Jackets (3-7) within shouting distance in the first half with all 12 of his points. He also had two rebounds and two steals.
Beau Bridges had six points and six boards, Dayne Burgess had six rebounds and a pair of helpers, Owynn Gleason and Caden Rowland had four rebounds apiece. Hudson Rohler had four assists and three boards for Mount Vernon, which has lost two consecutive games.
Lionell Moses Jr. had eight points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists and Dennis Gilmore-Holley had four steals and two assists for Heights, which was 39-23 before scoring the first 13 points of the second half to blow the game open.
Where does Mount Vernon go from here?
“It’s just a big step back for us,” Coon said. “We’re going to have to get over it and learn from it because our schedule doesn’t get any easier. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. I just want to see positive energy. If the most adversity that we face in life is losing a basketball game, then you’ve had a pretty good life.
“What sports is great at is teaching you to fight that adversity so that hopefully down the road when you fight some real adversity, you’re equipped to handle that and have a mindset to fight through that and not just give into that.”
