Mt. Vernon’s Cooper Galli passes the ball to Avery Williams, Jr. after grabbing a loose ball away from Noblesville defender Luke Almodovar during their game at Mt. Vernon High School on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Richard Sitler/Daily Reporter)
Richard Sitler/Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — At this stage of the high school boys basketball state tournament, talent is a given, if not a necessity. The same goes for the intangibles, which the Class 4A seventh-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders have.
Veteran experience.
Senior leadership.
Postseason familiarity.
Team chemistry.
A hunger to make history.
With eight seniors on its 10-player roster, Mt. Vernon knows how to compile wins, and the program continues to prove it through its ongoing, 16-game winning streak to reach the state’s elite 16 in 4A.
The Marauders haven’t lost since Jan. 4 at Westfield, 87-78, and have only endured two losses all season, including a 65-59 setback at No. 2 Fishers to open the year.
Their efficiency has resulted in back-to-back sectional titles — the team’s first consecutive title run since claiming three straight (1990-92) — but there’s something missing that hasn’t escaped the Marauder seniors’ attention.
“We’ve never won a 4A regional game, so we want to do that,” Mt. Vernon senior Cooper Galli said. “We want to have a chance to win regional and maybe get all the way to state. That’s what I’ve been preparing for since I was a sophomore playing varsity. That’s all I’ve been thinking about (leaving a legacy).”
The Marauders’ 22-2 record is the program’s second-best over the past 10 years, just two shy of matching the 2012-13 team’s 24-2 regional title run and semistate appearance.
Mt. Vernon has claimed three boys’ basketball regional titles in school history (1987, 1991 and 2013), but the last one was in 3A at Greencastle. If a fourth, and first-ever in 4A, unfolds this Saturday, then it will happen at a place where the Marauders’ learned an invaluable lesson last year — Southport Fieldhouse.
“It was very different. We kind of didn’t get used to it until the second half (last year),” Mt. Vernon senior Armon Jarrard said. “I think about it a lot. Now, we know what to expect. How to come in and play.”
In their first regional appearance since 2013, the Marauders admittedly found themselves caught up in the intensity of the moment and the massive crowd to trail quickly against a senior-laden Plainfield program, which eliminated coach Ben Rhoades’ then-up-and-coming squad, 61-52.
Minutes afterwards, the Marauders collectively set their sights on a return trip to the regional, as seniors with some unfinished business on the forefront of their minds.
“Just from going over there and practicing (this week), I can tell, they’re much more relaxed. I don’t feel they’re intimidated at all by the situation or where we’re playing because Southport Fieldhouse is great place to play. I don’t think they’re intimidated by anyone we’re going to play right now,” Rhoades said. “They’re obviously very confident with all the wins that they have, and I feel like they’re really focused on trying to win one game at a time.”
Their next game will tip at 10 a.m. in the regional semifinals against fifth-ranked Ben Davis (21-6), a basketball giant with 22 sectional titles overall — compared to Mt. Vernon’s 15 — and nine regional championships, including two (2017, 2019) in the past six years.
The Giants have won three state titles. Their last was in 2017, which coincidentally brings coach Rhoades full circle this weekend.
Rhoades was a varsity assistant coach under Mark James, who led the Giants to a 55-52 victory against Fort Wayne North during the 4A State Finals in 2016-17.
“I spent a lot of time (at Ben Davis), obviously, for seven years, and I have some really good memories there and in the school. A lot of these kids that are playing now were actually on some of the youth and travel teams when I was there, so I recognize a lot of the names,” Rhoades said. “I have great memories there but coming here was probably the best thing that ever happened to me professionally. I would never look back now.”
The Marauders aren’t looking past the Giants, even with No. 8 Cathedral (22-6) and No. 15 Terre Haute North (23-4) also in the regional field.
Ben Davis boasts a trio of double-digit scorers in sophomore KJ Windham (13.2 points per game), junior Zane Doughty (11.1 ppg) and junior Sheridan Sharp (10.0 ppg). Windham is the younger brother of Ball State’s Jalen Windham, who posted a game-high 15 points in the 2017 state title game for Ben Davis.
Sharp and the other Giants are known standouts around the AAU circuit and to Armon and his twin brother, Amhad Jarrard (15.1 ppg), who are both committed to IUPUI.
While the Giants are favored to advance, the Marauders are eager to flip the bracket. They’re used to being doubted.
“We’ve always been the underdogs, and we’re still the underdogs,” Armon Jarrard said. “We want to make this happen really bad because this is our last year. We don’t want it to end.”
Armon (16.0 ppg) has kept to his word with five 20-plus point performances in the Marauders’ past seven games, including three straight during the Greenfield-Central Sectional. Jarrard has 383 points this season and carries 973 in his career, only 27 away from 1,000.
However, depth and unselfishness have provided the Marauders with another shot at regional.
“Anybody can score 15 points on any given night, so we don’t have to depend on one person,” Galli said. “There’s no pressure. If I miss, I know someone will go for the rebound and another person can hit that shot. Or I can drive and kick to someone else to get that shot. I know if I’m not scoring, there are other ways I can help the team.”
Belief is a powerful weapon in the Marauders’ arsenal, as winners of eight contests in two possessions or less this season.
The last one was Mt. Vernon’s biggest postseason test, against No. 10 Anderson, 82-76, in front of a near-capacity crowd during the sectional semifinals this past Friday.
“The Anderson game was sold out, I think, so we’re expecting it to be packed Saturday morning as well,” Galli said. “We’re just going to go out there and play basketball. Try not to focus on the crowd. At the end of the day, it’s just playing basketball.”
With three straight 80-plus point games — six in total this season — the Marauders can do more than play. They do what is necessary to win.
“Anderson is as good as those (regional) teams, so I liked that we were able to persevere through Friday night. That team was a lot bigger than we were, and they had some really quick guards. They were one of the teams that probably matched us the best top-to-bottom, physically and speed wise. To be able to win that game was a big deal for our program and hopefully that helps us as we move into regional,” Rhoades said. “We also have some very fast and athletics kids, too.”
Having three key contributors from Mt. Vernon’s 2021 4A football state title team in senior Avery Williams Jr. (9.3 ppg), senior Ray Wells (10.0 ppg) and junior sixth-man Eli Bridenthal (6.6 ppg) only adds to their potential championship pedigree.
“That’s something at practice over at Southport Fieldhouse I noticed. They took it more serious. Last year, they were happy to be there — joking around a little bit more. This time, we went in there, practiced 90 minutes like a normal day, did a lot of shooting and everyone was really focused,” Rhoades said. “They expected to do this. They expect to win. They’re not walking around conceited about it. They’re just confident that they can get it done. There’s not a game we’ve went into this year that they felt that we were going to lose.”
Class 4A Southport Regional
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Semifinals
Game 1: No. 5 Ben Davis (21-6) vs. No. 7 Mt. Vernon (22-2), 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 8 Indianapolis Cathedral (22-6) vs. No. 15 Terre Haute North Vigo (23-4), noon
Championship Final
Game 3: Winner Gm 1 vs. Winner Gm 2, 8 p.m.
* Admission: $8 per session/$10 season.
Scouting the Mt. Vernon Marauders
Team Statistics
State Ranking: No. 7 (AP), No. 7 (IBCA Poll)
Record: 22-2 (11-0 at home, 8-2 away, 3-0 neutral)
PPG Avg.: 69.0
RPG Avg.: 23.8
APG Avg.: 14.1
SPG Avg.: 7.9
BPG Avg.: 2.3
Points scored: 1,656
Key Players
G Armon Jarrard, Sr.
16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 spg
G Amhad Jarrard, Sr.
15.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.3 spg
F Ray Wells, Sr.
10.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
G Avery Williams Jr., Sr.
9.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.3 spg
G Cooper Galli, Sr.
7.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg
Scouting the Ben Davis Giants
Team Statistics
State Ranking: No. 5 (AP), No. 5 (IBCA Poll)
Record: 21-5 (9-3 at home, 8-2 away, 4-1 neutral)
PPG Avg.: 63.1
RPG Avg.: 32.1
APG Avg.: 12.3
SPG Avg.: 10.0
BPG Avg.: 4.4
Points scored: 1,712
Key Players
G KJ Windham, So.
13.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg
C Zane Doughty, Jr.
11.1 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.1 bpg
G Sheridan Sharp, Jr.
10.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 2.1 spg
G Clay Butler, Jr.
7.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.1 spg
