FORTVILLE — It was played word for word from the Senior Night script.
Seniors start.
Seniors play well.
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Seniors get curtain call.
Team wins.
Add that the victory is over their biggest rival, Hoosier Heritage Conference champions and a possible sectional opponent in two weeks, makes it worth every bit of the celebrating that happened before, during and after the game.
Mt. Vernon won for the fourth time in six games and led from start to finish in a 79-65 victory over New Palestine at Mt. Vernon High School, Friday.
The Marauders first nine points came from seniors, as Rickie Wedlow, Evan Barr and Jacob Frank joined normal starter and classmate Ryan Morris and sophomore Amhad Jarrard in the starting lineup.
The Class of ‘20 scored 14 of the team’s 20 first-quarter points.
They set the stage for a big night.
“I thought we played four really hard quarters, and it was everyone that played in the game,” Mt. Vernon coach Ben Rhoades said. “We played a couple of different people to start because it was Senior Night, but everyone gave us maximum effort.
“All of our seniors, we trust them. That’s why they are on our team. .. We knew it was a little change temporarily tonight and we got a good lift at the beginning of the game.”
The Marauders hit 7 of 10 first quarter field-goal attempts and were 4 of 4 from 3-point range. Two of the 3-pointers came from Frank, who came in averaging 2.8 points per game.
Wedlow, who averages 3.3 per outing, got a season-high 11. He got some big ones late, too, scoring eight of his points in the second half.
Morris finished with 12 points, five above his average and one off his season best.
“It was a good team effort whether you played one minute or 32 minutes. Everyone contributed,” Morris said.
Frank’s second trey gave Mt. Vernon a 14-7 lead. It was 20-14 Marauders after one.
“It’s special for them as seniors to get honored before the game. It’s special that they get to play a few more minutes,” Rhoades added. “They all want to win every game just like everybody else. They work behind the scenes in practice more than anyone ever realizes. Some of those guys have played on our team for four years and this was the first varsity start for a couple of them.
“I can’t thank them enough.”
They set the table for the Jarrard twins. Amhad led the way in extending a six-point first-quarter lead to double figures by halftime. He finished with 17 points.
Armon Jarrard had a game-high 22, including 13 in the fourth quarter where he hit 9 of 10 free throws.
New Palestine cut the lead to two, 38-36, on a Dawson Eastes 3-pointer midway through the third quarter, but the Dragons were unable to get any closer.
Maximus Gizzi, the Dragons’ all-time leading scorer, hit the 1,500-point mark for his career after his first bucket of the game. He finished with a team-high 19. Eastes scored 14. Eric Roudebush and Steele Brasfield each scored 10.
The Dragons clinched the HHC title last week with a win over Shelbyville, at the time, their fifth straight win. They’ve dropped two straight this week, falling 68-42 at home on Monday to Connersville.
“We’ve got to right the ship,” New Palestine head coach Trent Whitaker said. “I think we’re going to be alright. Our kids are resilient. We’ve got our Senior Night (tonight) and we’re going to celebrate our four seniors that have given everything they’ve had (to our program). We can’t hang our heads we’ve got to learn from it and move one.”
Mt. Vernon was the one celebrating on Friday. The Marauders improved to 9-10 overall and 2-4 in the HHC. The Dragons are 10-12 and finish the conference season 5-2.
“New Pal’s a great team,” Rhoades added. “That score is not indicative of how close the game was. They’re well-coached. They have a couple really good players. Everybody knows that. I’m sure that we might see them again and that’s part of having a good rivalry in the county.”
Mt. Vernon travels to Greenwood tonight. The Dragons host Whiteland for their Senior Night.
