MOORESVILLE — The Mt. Vernon Marauders simply refused to quit.
Down by as many as 16 points early in the second half after a lackluster first 16 minutes, the Marauders were in dire need of a spark Tuesday night.
They found it once Mooresville senior Miles McGowen joined the 1,000-point club to put the host Pioneers ahead 46-31 with 7 minutes, 3 seconds to go in the third quarter.
“I know it made me mad because I didn’t want him to get 1,000 points tonight. That was one of my goals coming into this game,” Mt. Vernon junior Cooper Galli said. “So, that definitely made me mad.”
The momentary annoyance turned into instant motivation as the resilient Marauders charged back behind an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to five points following an on-court acknowledgment of McGowen’s milestone.
Down by three points entering the fourth quarter, the Marauders strung together a decisive 8-0 spurt to take their first lead of the game, 62-58, which they never relinquished en route to a 80-70 win.
The Marauders (12-4) attacked from all angles during their comeback, particularly from long range, burying 15 of 23 3-pointers, including nine in the second half.
“I think we did a really good job of getting the ball to shooters who were in rhythm. Their feet were set. We weren’t trying to force them at that point in time. We were getting good drives and their defense was collapsing in on us,” Mt. Vernon head coach Ben Rhoades said. “We were just kicking it out for open 3s, and it wasn’t just one person. That was the best part about it.”
It was seven players total.
After sinking 5 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Marauders converted 9 of 10 in the second led by senior Drew Walker’s four overall.
Galli had a trio of 3-pointers with two singeing the net during Mt. Vernon’s 11-2 swing in the third quarter.
McGowen, a 6-foot-7 forward, had a game-high 30 points for the Pioneers (6-10). Mooresville finished with three double-digit scorers in Luke Fowler (14) and Dane Stevenson (15), but the Marauders had four and hauled in 13 key defensive rebounds in the second half.
“They were shooting well, and we were playing bad as a team, so in the second half, I came out and tried to get our team into it, and we got’em fired up,” Galli said. “When we pass the ball well, and we run as a group, we’re just going to hit. That’s what happened tonight.”
Galli posted a team-high 21 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field — 3-for-4 from 3-point range — and went 8 of 11 from the foul line. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter and 11 in the third.
“I think it shows how balanced our team is because everybody on our team, all 10 of us, can go off at any given time,” Galli said.
Walker scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, while both Armon Jarrard (two 3-pointers) and Eli Bridenthal (two 3-pointers) had 10 points apiece.
Amhad Jarrard (two 3-pointers) nearly gave the Marauders five players in double figures with eight points. Avery Williams Jr. had five points with a 3-pointer and Cameron Lusby had a 3.
“That all became possible because of their defense. They ramped up the defense in the second half like we did not play close to in the first half,” Rhoades said. “In the first half, (Mooresville) only missed around four shots. It was a layup party for them, and we really made an emphasis at halftime that we weren’t going to let that happen.”
The Pioneers opened the game on a 12-2 run and followed it up with an 8-0 run to lead by 15 points before the end of the first quarter.
Feeding McGowen inside, the Pioneers used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to jump in front 31-16 after Mt. Vernon chopped the deficit down to six points, 22-16, on an Amhad Jarrard 3-pointer.
Mooresville led 42-28 at halftime as it outworked Mt. Vernon on the glass 19-7 and held the Marauders without a rebound until the 2:06 mark in the first quarter.
“After our loss to Noblesville (62-52 on Saturday), we talked about how disappointed we were in our rebounding the past couple of days at practice, which is why I was disappointed in our effort in the first half,” Rhoades said. “However, we did a good job. We regrouped. We came out better in the second half and it wasn’t just one person. We got some good momentum, and it ended up being good for us.”
Razhaun Wells (five points) kicked off the comeback, going 1-for-2 from the foul line, narrowing the Pioneers’ lead 46-32 with 6:20 left in the third.
Back-to-back 3-pointer by Amhad Jarrard and Galli made it a 10-point game before Bridenthal collected an Armon Jarrard outlet pass for a layup. Another Galli 3-pointer shrank the deficit 48-43 with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Galli dropped in a pair of foul shots early in the fourth quarter to make it 55-54 before Mooresville’s Zach Woodson hit a 3-pointer to pad his team’s lead 58-54.
From there the Marauders took control as Bridenthal hit two free throws and consecutive 3-pointers by Eli and Armon Jarrard supplied Mt. Vernon with the lead 62-58 at the 4:55 mark.
Mooresville shot 50 percent from the field in the game and 75 percent in the first half, but Mt. Vernon had a 24-point third and 28-point fourth to win.
The Marauders shot 19 of 23 from the free-throw line and recorded a combined 17 assists and 10 steals. Galli and Wells both finished with four assists, while Bridenthal had a team-best six rebounds.
Mooresville’s McGowen scored an and-1 with 4:39 remaining to bring the Pioneers within one, 62-61, but a 9-2 run with 3-pointers by Armon Jarrard and Walker and an and-1 by Galli sealed it.
McGowen and Fowler both had six rebounds for Mooresville. Ashtyn Holtzclaw posted a team-best eight as the Pioneers won the rebound battle 33-22, but lost the game.
“We got a good win tonight. Probably our best win of the season for coming back,” Rhoades said. “I just told them, I was more proud of this game than I have been all year.”
