Mount Vernon 74, Ashland 72 (OT)
Mount Vernon (3-0, 1-0) is off to a red-hot start, and the Yellow Jackets continued their winning early season with a hard-fought 74-72 overtime victory over Ashland (1-3, 0-1) on Dec. 2.
Mount Vernon started the game in crisp fashion and had a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 18-13. The Jackets continued to outplay Ashland in the second quarter, making it a 34-27 game at the half. The tables turned in the second half. Ashland outscored Mount Vernon 19-17 and 17-12 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to bring the game to overtime. Both teams went into the extra period hungry, but the Yellow Jackets were able to secure a two-point victory for their third straight win to start the season.
Mount Vernon had its hands full all game with Grayson Steury of Ashland, who hit six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points. Keslar Bates also provided major firepower with 15 points, including three from downtown.
The Yellow Jackets had four players in double figures, however. They were led by Hudson Rohler, who continued his hot season start with 26 points, including hitting five threes from behind the arc. Caden Rowland had 16 points and four threes in the game. Ben Bridges provided 14 points and hit three shots from deep. Cooper Carpenter had 11 points in the win, with two makes from three.
Nick Coon, Mount Vernon's basketball coach, was quick to point out his team's grit and what they need to work on.
“We had another exciting finish," he said. "We opened up a lead in the second half but never could extend it. Give credit to Ashland, especially to Grayson Steury for making tough shots. He had a huge night.
"We have to learn as coaches and players what we can do better to not allow teams to get back in games that we take a lead in, but we are proud of our players [for] sticking together and finding a way to get a road win.”
Mount Vernon faces West Holmes on the road on Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Mount Gilead 77, Danville 75
A tight match-up from start to finish between Mount Gilead (2-0, 1-0) and Danville (0-1, 0-1) ended in a two-point win for the Indians on Dec. 2. It was a big scoring night for Matt Bland, as Mount Gilead won their second straight game to start the season and beat the Blue Devils 77-75.
Mount Gilead led 17-16 after one quarter with Danville staying close, thanks to 10 points out of the gate by Spencer Payne. The Indians then widened the gap in the second quarter – outscoring the Blue Devils 22-15 – making it a 39-31 lead at the half. It was all Danville in the third quarter, outscoring Mount Gilead 25-9. Payne scored 13, but the Indians woke up in the fourth quarter and outscored Danville 29-19. Bland bombed in three treys and scored 17 points to drive the Indians to a close victory.
The difference-maker was free-throw shooting, as Mount Gilead hit 85% of its shots compared to 57% for Danville. All other categories were close, but Danville led with 50% compared to 42% for the Indians, including 38% to 33% from three-point land. Bland led the way with 36 points during the night, highlighted by seven makes from beyond the arc. Aaron Gannon drained four threes and had 22 points in the win.
Danville was led by Payne’s 30 points, with a pair of makes from deep. Levi Lyons scored 15 and Walker Weckesser also got into double figures with 11 points. After Danville's football team went all the way to regional finals, it left much of the team on the football field during the early days of practice.
"We really played hard,” Steve Lyons, Danville's coach, said. “We only had six practices with our football guys."
Danville hosts Centerburg (1-1, 1-0) on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Mount Gilead hosted Utica (0-1, 0-1) on Dec. 3; the results are listed below.
Fredericktown 58, Cardington-Lincoln 55
Fredericktown (1-2, 0-1) hosted Cardington-Lincoln (2-1, 0-1) on Dec. 2. Thanks to strong rebounding and efficient shooting, the Freddies took a 58-55 win over the Pirates for their first win of the season. Fredericktown shot 55% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc, compared to Cardington-Lincoln’s line of 35% and 39%. The Freddies out-rebounded the Pirates 34-26 and were able to squeak by with the win.
Derek Dibling, the Freddies' basketball coach, gave credit to his team and their opponents.
"I am proud of the kids for showing resiliency and handling a hard-nosed Cardington team," he said. "They kept their composure, even though Cardington kept knocking down shot after shot and answering the call every time we made a run. Kaid Carpenter and Brady Lester really stepped up for us in the second half when we needed our leaders to shine, and sealed the deal with free throws in crunch time."
Next up for the Freddies is East Knox (1-0,0-0) for a home conference matchup on Dec. 6, starting at 7:30 p.m.
The Pirates took on Delaware Christian on Dec. 3; the results are listed below. Their next game is Elgin (2-0, 1-0) on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
East Knox 31, Amanda-Clearcreek 20
East Knox (1-0, 0-0) kicked off its season on a high note with a low-scoring win over Amanda-Clearcreek (0-4, 0-2), 31-20 on Dec. 2. East Knox led 7-6 after one quarter and then 13-10 at halftime. The second half was a dominant effort for the Bulldogs, who held the Aces to only two points in the third quarter and eight in the final frame.
East Knox shot 33% from the field and 30% from three, while A-C was held to 21% and 9%, respectively. The Bulldogs also controlled the glass with a 35-23 advantage in the game. Ethan Rine led the charge for the Bulldogs with 10 points. Jaxon Lester had nine points as he nailed three shots from deep.
Next up for East Knox is Fredericktown (1-2, 0-1) on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
Utica 70, Mount Gilead 49
Utica’s Trenton Collins brought his A-game to lead a blowout 70-49 win for the Redskins in their season opener over host Mount Gilead on Dec. 3. That ended the Indians' two-game win streak. Utica was fueled by standout Collins, who was pouring in points all night – eight in the first, 11 in the second, seven in the third, and 10 in the fourth – to lead all scorers with 36 points in the win. Teammate Brody McDaniel also hit double figures with 13 points for Utica.
Mount Gilead’s Matt Bland had 20 points and Aaron Gannon scored 15 points.
Utica led in nearly all categories in the game, notably in shooting efficiency at 47% to 33% field-goal percentage. They also shot 35% from three, with Mount Gilead at only 25%. Utica managed to hit the glass harder with 33-30 in rebounds. Defensively, Utica had 11 steals and the Indians had six.
Utica basketball coach Brian Radabaugh liked what he saw in Utica's first game of the season.
"It was a great way to open our season on the road against a good team," he said. "Our guys played hard and played together. We had contributions up and down the lineup.
Mount Gilead travels to Northmor (0-2, 0-1) on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Cardington-Lincoln 65, Delaware Christian 51
Cardington-Lincoln (3-1, 0-1) picked up its third win of the season in a home non-conference game against Delaware Christian, 65-61, thanks to a huge first half for the Pirates. The Pirates dominated out of the gate with a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. They sailed the momentum from the opening frame and outscored the Eagles 28-9 to make it a 45-16 game at the half.
Delaware gained its composure in the third with a 16-13 advantage and followed with a 19-7 advantage in the fourth quarter, but the gap was too wide for the Eagles to claw back. Cardington-Lincoln out-rebounded the Eagles 39-33 and out-assisted them 15-12. They also shot 43% from the field, compared to 36% for Delaware Christian.
Next up for Cardington-Lincoln is Elgin (2-0, 1-0) on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Ontario 51, Highland 39
Highland (2-1, 0-1) took on Ontario in what Scots basketball coach Mike Delaney described as a “hard-fought MOAC contest.” Despite coming out with an early lead, the Fighting Scots were unable to hold on and took a 51-39 loss. Highland held a 10-6 lead after one quarter, but the Warriors battled back to take a 17-14 lead at the half.
Highland played well in the third quarter and took a 29-28 lead into the final frame. The Fighting Scots ran into foul trouble, however, and the Warriors capitalized, scoring 18 of their 23 points from free throws. Garrett Toombs and Brock Church each had 11 points to lead the offense for Highland.
Next up for Highland is a Dec. 8 matchup with Pleasant for a 7:15 tip-off.
