By James Howell Jr./For The Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — The Mt. Vernon Marauders (11-2) kicked off their two-game home swing against Hamilton County foes on Friday night by playing host to the Hamilton Heights Huskies (6-6).
Despite the favorable matchup on paper, the Huskies put up a valiant fight and kept the Marauders within striking distance for most of the evening’s matchup.
In the end, the Marauders did escape with a, 59-52, victory to extend their winning streak to five.
Poor shooting on both sides plagued the game in the first half. The only play on the court in the early portions of the game that found their rhythm was Avery Williams for Mt. Vernon. In the first quarter he put 11 points on the board on 5-for-6 shooting.
That performance was enough to push the Marauders ahead — a lead they would not lose all night.
The poor shooting continued in the second half, but really put an anchor on the Huskies efforts to stay above water early. In the second quarter they were only able to muster five points and fell behind to the Marauders by 10, 27-17.
Williams’ 11 points in the first quarter remained a team high for the Marauders through the first half.
In the third quarter, the Huskies adjustments proved positive and they caught fire. With seven points from both Dean Mason and Tillman Etchison, the Huskies pulled within one point during the quarter. After just 17 first-half points, the Huskies put 19 on the board in the third quarter.
Marauders head coach Ben Rhoades explains that the Marauders defensive missteps allowed for Hamilton Heights to stick around.
“While our offense did enough all night, there were some moments in which we lapsed on defense,” Rhoades said. “Our guys played hard, but we made a few too many errors defensively and credit to Hamilton Heights, they capitalized.”
The lapses allowed the Huskies to shoot 80 percent in the third quarter.
Still, the Marauders never lost the lead. Despite multiple instances in which the Huskies came within a single field goal, the Marauders constantly had an answer.
More often than not, the answer for the Marauders came via defense from Armon Jarrard and offensive facilitating from Ray Wells.
Within a 72 second stretch in the fourth quarter, Jarrard came away with three straight defensive stops. All three Huskies possessions in this stretch of time were turnovers forced by Jarrard. These stops led to seven Marauders points.
Along with the fastbreak points off of the takeaways, the Marauders used Ray Wells to perfection late in the game. His ability to break the Huskies zone and find the open teammate proved vital according to Rhoads.
“Ray played really well,” Rhoades said. “We thankfully have a team full of selfless guys. Ray is one of those guys that is happy to give up scoring the basket to find a teammate with a better look. He found Amhad (Jarrard) with a few really nice passes down low from the high post.”
Wells finished the game with four points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Amhad Jarrard, along with brother Armon led the Marauders in scoring with a combined 29 points.
While the Marauder offense continued to click, the Huskies refused to give in. With a 3-pointer from Cooper Vondersoor over the outstretched arm of Eli Bridenthal, they were back within three points with just 1:03 remaining.
Over the final 63 seconds, the Marauder defense tightened up and shut the Huskies down. Bridenthal and Cooper Galli hit game-clinching free throws to end the game.
The swing continues at home tomorrow night against Hamilton Southeastern.
Mt. Vernon 59, Hamilton Heights 52
Mt. Vernon;15;12;12;20;—;59
Hamilton Height;12;5;19;16—;52
Mt. Vernon (11-2): Armon Jarrard 7 0-0 15, Amhad Jarrard 7 0-0 14, Cooper Galli 4 3-3 11, Avery Williams 5 0-0 11, Eli Bridenthal 2 3-3 5, Ray Wells 2 0-0 4, George Burhenn 0 1-2 1. Totals: 28 7-8 59.
Hamilton Heights (6-6): Luke Carroll 7 2-3 16, Tillman Etchison 5 2-2 13, Isaac Tuma 5 0-0 11, Dean Mason 3 1-2 9, Cooper Vondersaar 1 0-0 3. Totals: 26 5-7 52.
3-point field goals: Mt. Vernon 2 (Armon Jarrard 1, Avery Williams 1); Hamilton Heights 5 (Etchison 1, Tuma 1, Vondersaar 1, Mason 2).
