FORTVILLE — A tipped pass, a steal, an outlet pass and a dunk silenced the Mt. Vernon crowd Friday night.
While the crowd was still reeling from the first slam, the visiting Orioles stole the ball again, and again found sophomore Jayden Brewer all alone on his way to the basket.
Every time the Marauders got close, the 6-foot-4 Brewer seemed to have an answer in the first half. He went up higher and more emphatically the second time he dunked, slamming the ball home and putting the visitors ahead nine late in the first half.
But the Marauders wouldn’t have it. They wouldn’t be deterred. The gym was silenced, but the team wasn’t.
Mt. Vernon closed the half on a 5-0 run to recapture some momentum and cut the lead to two in the second half, but the hosts never could quite catch up to the Orioles as Avon prevailed, 49-43.
“We knew that’s a team that has a lot of runs. We knew that they were going to dunk it,” Mt. Vernon coach Ben Rhoades said. “We knew that was going to happen sometimes. And after that dunk, they did not score the rest of the quarter. To me, that showed me the heart that we have as a team. Our kids did not like that happening to us, obviously.”
Mt. Vernon couldn’t find an answer for Brewer in the first half. He finished the half 6 of 7 from the floor and made all three of his free throws, leading the way with 15 points in the first 16 minutes.
The Marauders mostly shut him down in the second half, as Brewer added just five more points. After scoring the majority of his team’s points in the first two quarters, the rest of Brewer’s teammates found their shots in the second half.
The score fluctuated, with Avon nearing double-digit leads a few times and Mt. Vernon pulling it back to within a possession countless times.
“I learned that we had a lot of grit. I learned that we are a team that’s not going to give up — those guys fought to the last second,” Rhoades said of his team. “We played through some mistakes. We played some really good defense and boxed out towards the end of the game. We missed a couple shots that maybe we shouldn’t have, OK, but that’s the deal. We just played hard, and I saw that we had a lot more fight in us than maybe I would have given them credit for before tonight.”
Despite Avon’s 5-6 record coming into the game, Mt. Vernon knew to expect a fight from the Orioles. Most of Avon’s losses have come to teams currently ranked in Indiana, and they’ve played the 15th-toughest schedule according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings.
The Marauders (7-3) had a balanced team effort, with everyone who played meaningful minutes contributing to keep the score close.
Peyton Meadors led the way with 12 points and three rebounds. Brandon Bell had 10 points, an assist, a steal and a pair of rebounds. Keith Rupert added nine points and three assists. Cade Gentry scored seven points and had three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Ryan Morris added three points and two steals off the bench, and Eric Heard closed out the scoring with two points and added two rebounds and a steal of his own.
“We had some guys early in the game step up and hit some shots that haven’t lately,” Rhoades said. “I know that we lost, but they have confidence. Their heads are hanging right now, but we play a good Howe team tomorrow and I think if we build off what we just now did, we’ll be in the game tomorrow. Avon is definitely an under-ranked team. I know they are .500 right now, but they are a Top 30 team, especially with their schedule and athleticism.”
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Avon 49, Mt. Vernon 43
Avon;12;10;10;17;—;49
Mt. Vernon;9;9;9;17;—;43
Avon (6-6): Jayden Brewer 7 6-7 20, J.P. Carroll 0 4-6 4, Camden Melvin 1 0-0 2, Wendell DeMyers 2 5-6 9, Jayden Baylor 1 2-4 4, Le’Angelo Saravia 2 1-2 7, Mason Miller 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 18-25 49.
Mt. Vernon (7-3): Peyton Meadors 3 6-6 12, Cade Gentry 2 2-2 7, Brandon Bell 3 2-2 10, Keith Rupert 4 0-0 9, Max Burhenn 0 0-0 0, Ryan Morris 1 1-2 3, Eric Heard 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 11-12 43.
3-point goals: Avon 3 (Saravia 2, Miller), Mt. Vernon 4 (Bell 2, Gentry, Rupert).
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