For the Daily Reporter
SHELBYVILLE — Peyton Meadors was patient.
The 6-foot-4 senior guard entered Friday’s road contest with Shelbyville as Mt. Vernon’s leading scorer. Meadors, letting the game come to him, reached his season average in a 54-48 Hoosier Heritage Conference win.
After sitting early in the opening quarter, Meadors was able to score seven points in the first half. He made three field goals, including a 3-pointer, in the second frame.
Finishing with a game-high 19 points, the long and lanky well-rounded guard scored 12 points after the break, which helped the Marauders outscore the Golden Bears 35-26 in a second-half comeback.
Shelbyville had led 22-19 at halftime and 12-7 after one quarter.
Meadors also collected nine rebounds in the victory, three coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
“Peyton is a good player and is good at getting to the basket,” said Shelbyville head coach Ryan Mack. “He finds a way to score. He is smart.”
Mt. Vernon (4-1, 2-0 HHC) took a 37-35 lead into the fourth period and made enough plays late in the game to seal the win. The Marauders finished 12 of 15 at the foul line and committed just seven turnovers. The team entered the game averaging 10 turnovers per contest.
Shelbyville (4-3, 0-2 HHC) started the game in a 2-3 zone. Mt. Vernon attacked the basket and hit open shots from deep in the third quarter, however, which forced the Golden Bears to come out of the zone.
“I thought a zone was a way to slow them down, because they aren’t a great shooting team,” Mack said. “They are really good at getting in the lane and getting to the basket, which they showed in the second half. We had to come out of it (the zone).”
Junior guard Brandon Bell led the Marauders, who finished the first quarter 1 of 7 from the field, with eight points at the break. He had 10 points in the game while his teammate, senior guard Cade Gentry, totaled 11 points. Gentry knocked down two key 3-pointers during a third quarter run.
Mt. Vernon also limited Shelbyville senior guard Zach Kuhn to 17 points and left the Division I Army signee in foul trouble in the fourth quarter. Kuhn entered the game averaging 23 points per game. His backcourt partner Josh Williams, who is a senior guard, also finished with 17 points in the loss.
The Marauders return to action Dec. 21 at New Castle.
