Mt. Vernon’s Armon Jarrard connects on a 3-pointer to put the Marauders up 23-20 over Noblesville with three minutes remaining in the second quarter at Mt. Vernon High School on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Richard Sitler/Daily Reporter)
HANCOCK COUNTY — The time has arrived.
A rivalry game circled on calendars across Hancock County for several weeks, tonight, the host Mt. Vernon Marauders and the New Palestine Dragons will finally collide with the Hoosier Heritage Conference title on the line.
To the victor go the spoils of, at least, a share of the HHC championship.
To the defeated goes a potential chance at revenge later during the Class 4A Sectional 9 tournament at Greenfield-Central High School next month.
At a perfect 5-0 in the HHC, the 4A No. 10 Marauders (17-2) control their own destiny with the visiting Dragons (15-5, 5-1 HHC) currently tied for second in the league standings with 3A No. 8 New Castle (14-3, 5-1 HHC).
While the New Castle Trojans travel to face the red-hot Greenfield-Central Cougars (12-7, 3-3 HHC) tonight, all eyes will be on the marquee matchup in Fortville.
Marking the 87th meeting between the two rival programs since 1963-64, the Marauders hold the overall series advantage at 52-34, but coach Trent Whitaker’s Dragons have owned the most recent success.
New Palestine has won four of the past five meetings and two straight, including a sectional semifinal win in 2019-20 en rout to the Dragons’ back-to-back championship run.
However, the surging defending sectional champion Marauders, who are ranked ninth in the latest IBCA poll, have added motivation this time around, beyond their 11-game winning.
It’s Senior Night at Mt. Vernon High School, which the Dragons’ are aiming to tarnish with hopes of securing their second HHC title in three years.
New Palestine has won the HHC four times in the past two decades (2000, 2003, 2013, 2020), while Mt. Vernon is the defending champion with four title seized in its history since 2008-09 (2009, 2010, 2016, 2021).
A win by Mt. Vernon to clinch a share of the title would be the program’s second repeat overall and first in 12 years.
“There’s going to be a lot of emotion. It’s senior night, and that’s perfectly fine. That’s part of it. These guys have been a big part of what we’ve done these past four years,” Mt. Vernon head coach Ben Rhoades said. “But, I think the mentality is the same. It’s let’s get that next game.”
The Marauders’ forward-focused approach led to a six-game winning streak this past December and its current run that began with a 60-59 overtime victory against Greenfield-Central on the road, Jan. 7.
Since losing to 4A No. 17 Westfield (15-6), 87-78, on Jan. 4, the Marauders haven’t faltered, reaching 70 points or more in six of their past 11 contests.
Unselfishness has been the catalyst for Mt. Vernon’s efficiency on offense and in transition, in addition to the athleticism of IUPUI commits Amhad and Armon Jarrard.
The senior twins are averaging 15.2 and 14.7 points per game, respectively.
Senior center Ray Wells is providing 10.1 ppg and 2.6 assists per contest, while Amhad and Armon Jarrard are both dishing out 3.6 assists a night.
“Last year, we got beat over at New Pal (75-71), and I think that this is a game where we’re going to have to put forth a great effort. They’ve had a really good stretch here also, and they’re going to come to play,” Rhoades said.
“They’re not going to just show up and let us do what we want to do to them. That’s part of being in a good conference because they only have one loss in the conference right now, so we just have to go in take care of the ball, play good defense and put ourselves in position to be successful in the fourth quarter.”
New Palestine put together an eight-game winning streak prior to losing to 3A No. 11 Connersville (15-6) at home this past Saturday. The Dragons’ run marked the their longest in 10 years.
Mt. Vernon’s longest streak prior to this season stretched to 17 games in 2012-13.
“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve gone on most of the early runs, but one of these days we may not be as fortunate, so that’s why every day we’re trying to make sure we have the mindset of coming out strong,” Rhoades said. “They haven’t really talked about how many we’ve won in a row.”
One of the Marauders’ primary tasks on defense will be slowing down Dragons’ senior standout Steele Brasfield, who is averaging 20.7 ppg. The Indiana Tech recruit has scored 414 points this season with 985 in his career. He is ranked ninth on the Dragons’ all-time career scoring list and is 15 points shy from joining the 1,000-point club.
Tip-off for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
