Marauders to face No. 2 Greensburg

GREENCASTLE — If you can’t beat them, beat on them.

That seemed to be part of the strategy for Danville and Frankfort on Saturday as they looked for ways to stop the state’s No. 1-ranked Class 3A boys basketball team.

Their gameplan had flashes of success, but, in the end, the Mt. Vernon boys were simply too big and bad to be pushed around.

The Marauders won the program’s first regional championship since 1991 with a 70-49 victory over Frankfort in the Saturday evening title game, following a morning semifinal win over Danville, 56-41.

Nearly half of Mt. Vernon’s semifinal points came from the free throw line, as Danville committed 32 fouls, including 12 in the third quarter, as the Marauders began to pull away.

“Coach had us prepared,” MV forward Zach Spears said Saturday night after he and his teammates cut down the net at Greencastle. “He told us it would be a physical game, and we found that out right away this morning.”

The Warriors (18-6) had a 21-20 halftime lead on the Marauders (24-1). In the second half, as Danville was overwhelmed by Mt. Vernon’s offensive pressure and size advantage, the referees were whistling more than construction workers outside a Hooters at shift change.

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