FORTVILLE — After a strong start to the season, the Mt. Vernon Marauders boys basketball team finds itself looking for a win.
They started the year 7-2, but after losing six of their last seven games, the Marauders had fallen to .500, at 8-8. They aimed to snap a four-game skid Tuesday night against visiting Lawrence Central, a tough task that fell short.
The Marauders hung close in the first half but couldn’t stay with the visitors through two big runs, and the No. 3 Bears picked up a road win, 64-52, at Mt. Vernon.
“I don’t believe in just a moral victory, any day. But I would say that as the competition has went up lately, our effort has also went up,” Mt. Vernon coach Ben Rhoades said. “There is not a game that we have lost in this streak, other than Delta, that we have not been within one possession in the second half. To me, that’s some resolve that they’re showing. I just think that this is going to continue to help us as we near the tournament.”
The degree of difficulty has drastically risen for the Marauders lately, with games against Class 3A No. 1 Delta, Class 2A No. 2 Shenandoah and now Class 4A No. 3 Lawrence Central among the recent outings.
That stretch helps gives Mt. Vernon the toughest strength of schedule in their sectional, currently ranked the 25th-toughest slate in the state according to the Sagarin ratings.
They may be below .500 now, at 8-9, but they hope to grow from the tough stretch to help in their effort to repeat as sectional champions.
“I think that as the last couple weeks went on, we’ve played more and more as a team,” Rhoades said. “That’s led to us being closer, even though some of the competition has increased. Tonight I know it was double-digits, but we hung with them as much as we could at the time. I think if one or two things change when it’s a one- or two-possession third quarter, that could have been flipped.”
Mt. Vernon held several three-point leads in the first half Tuesday night, and led 22-21 before a big run from the visitors opened up a lead. A pair of 3-pointers from Nijel Pack sparked the Bears to an 8-0 run and the biggest lead of the first half.
When the Marauders got the lead down to four early in the second half, the Bears responded again, a quick 10-0 run pushing the lead to double-digits for the first time.
A pair of 3-pointers from Jacob Frank got the lead down to 10 in the fourth quarter and a slick dribble move by Eric Heard led to a layup that cut the lead back to single digits, but the Bears were able to hold the Marauders at bay in the final four minutes and improve to 19-3 on the year.
The Marauders knew they had a tall task coming into the game. Lawrence Central has three big-time scorers, with senior Jake Laravia leading the way averaging 17.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game prior to Tuesday. Junior Dre Davis came into the game averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest, and Pack, another junior, averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
All three proved tough for the Marauders to stop on Tuesday. Davis had a double-double, leading all scorers with 17 points and adding 10 rebounds and a block. Pack had 16 points. Laravia had 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Despite the size disadvantage they faced, Mt. Vernon stayed in the game with a strong physical effort against a bigger opponent.
Peyton Meadors led Mt. Vernon in scoring with 16 points and added four rebounds. Keith Rupert had 14 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Cade Gentry had 10 points and five boards, Jacob Frank had six points and Eric Heard rounded out the scoring with four.
“I thought that our physical effort was the best it’s potentially been all season,” Rhoades said. “That was the most athletic team we’ve played, hands down. There is a reason that they are third in the state. If you’re playing a team like that, you have to play the perfect game to be in the game. We had a couple of lapses where maybe we missed a defensive assignment or we missed a block out, and then they capitalize as soon as you do that. That’s the sign of a good team, and that’s what Lawrence Central is.”
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No. 3 Lawrence Central 64, Mt. Vernon 52
Lawrence Central;15;16;15;16;—;64
Mt. Vernon;16;10;6;20;—;52
Lawrence Central (19-3): Jake Laravia 5 2-4 13, Dre Davis 6 3-6 17, Nijel Pack 6 0-0 16, Wes Jordan 5 3-8 13, Xavier DelReal 0 0-0 0, PJ Edwards 2 0-0 4, Shawn Hart 0 0-0 0, Travis Rogers 0 0-0. Totals: 24 8-18 64.
Mt. Vernon (8-9): Peyton Meadors 6 4-5 16, Cade Gentry 3 3-4 10, Keith Rupert 5 2-2 14, Brandon Bell 0 0-0 0, Max Burhenn 0 0-0 0, Eric Heard 2 0-0 4, Ryan Morris 0 2-2 2, Jacob Frank 2 0-0 6. Totals: 18 11-13 52.
3-point goals: Lawrence Central 7 (Pack 4, Davis 2, Laravia), Mt. Vernon 5 (Rupert 2, Frank 2, Gentry).
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