FORTVILLE — The surrounding cast may have been different, but Amhad Jarrard was right at home.

The Mt. Vernon high school basketball star, a member of the 2022 Indiana All-Star Boys Basketball team, was on the winning team again at the court he called home during his memorable career in the Marauders black and gold.

The Marauder colors were turned in for a red, white and blue all-star jersey.

On Wednesday, he was part of the senior all-stars 90-75 win over the Indiana Junior All-Star team in an exhibition game played at Mt. Vernon High School.

Jarrard was a key factor in the victory, and it was another win for him on his homecourt.

His high school team was undefeated at home, finished 22-3 overall and won a sectional title for the second straight year.

His favorite high school gym is now officially his old stomping grounds.

“It felt good with everybody on my side,” Jarrard said. “It felt good to be back.”

Jarrard is the fourth Marauder to be selected to the Indiana All-Star team. He is the first since Michael Ertel in 2017. The first Mt. Vernon player to be chosen was Brian Gilpin (1992). Daniel Turner made the team in 2010.

Normally a spot left to introduce Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, Jarrard, who wore No. 2, was the last player announced for the senior team and received the largest cheer from the partisan crowd.

In the first half, he showed his unselfish play and he logged some minutes in the game with fellow subs to help turn an 11-0 deficit into a 15-13 lead.

In the first half, Jarrard played just over nine of the 20 minutes. He missed his lone shot attempt, a 3-pointer, but he grabbed a pair of rebounds, had two assists, one steal and a plus-minus on the good side at plus-7.

He was more aggressive, offensively, in the final 20 minutes.

Jarrard’s first bucket came early in the second half. It was something the Marauder faithful had been accustomed seeing during the 6-feet, 4-inch standout’s career. He threw down a one-handed dunk to give the seniors a 55-50 lead with 14:37 remaining.

After grabbing a defensive rebound, he added a coast-to-coast two-handed slam, which at the time, gave the seniors their biggest lead, 63-55, with 11:44 left in the game.

A little later that lead grew some more. Jarrard dribbled through traffic in the halfcourt for a layup to bump the margin to nine 67-58 with 10:33 to go.

“I felt I played well for the time I was in. I was a spark plug that got us up a little bit,” he said. “I did what I had to do, played defense, and scored.”

“I knew I had to get at least one,” Jarrard added on getting a couple dunks. “I was at home and that’s what they like to see.”

Jarrard finished with eight points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and 2 of 2 free throws. He had four rebounds and three assists and finished with a plus-minus of plus-14. He played between 14-15 minutes of the 40-minute game.

“I think I got more used to the team,” Jarrard said of contributing a little more offensively in the second half. “I got more comfortable. I was playing my role and trying to fit in. The second half I came out more aggressive.”

He also did something no Marauder opponent could do this past season, hand coach Ben Rhoades a loss. The Mt. Vernon head coach was an assistant on the junior team.

“I’m very happy for him how he played in his last game. He hit some free throws, got a couple dunks and a couple good drives. It was a good end to a great career,” Rhoades said. “I would rather him get the last one. I’ve got more games in this gym and he doesn’t. I’m glad he got the last one. I have a lot more wins here and he doesn’t have another chance.”

The two had a lot of fun at school over the last month or so on who was going to get their first ‘L’ on the home floor.

“I told him next year he can stay undefeated,” Jarrard added.

The senior stars play the first of their two-game series against Kentucky on Friday in Owensboro, Ky., at Owensboro Sportscenter. The second game is Saturday at Southport Fieldhouse. Both contests are part of a girls-boys, state-rivalry doubleheader. Both nights open with the girls game.

Friday’s contests start at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). Saturday’s girls game begins at 5 p.m.

Following Saturday’s all-star game, Jarrard’s next action will be for IUPUI. He and his twin brother Armon Jarrard are part of the Jaguars incoming recruiting class.

The seniors were led in scoring by Javan Buchanan (Lafayette Jeff) with 15 points. Jaxon Edwards (Cathedral) had 13 points and 19 rebounds.

For the juniors, Zane Doughty (Ben Davis) had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Myles Colvin (Heritage Christian) led them in scoring with 15.

The seniors were short-handed and missing most of their size. North Carolina-bound Jalen Washington, from Gary West Side, is 6-9. He did not play due to injury. Tae Davis, a 6-8 standout from Warren Central headed to Seton Hall, was unable to play. Lawrence North’s C.J. Gunn, who is headed to Indiana University, also did not play.

Connor Essegian, a 6-4 guard from Central Noble, who will play at Wisconsin, left the game in the first quarter after being fouled on a 3-point shot attempt. It happened in the game’s first five minutes. He did not return and left on crutches.

Mr. Basketball Braden Smith, from Westfield and signed to play at Purdue, was another all-star out with an injury.

In Wednesday’s girls exhibition game, the seniors defeated the juniors 89-86. Five seniors scored in double figures, led by Alyssa Crockett (Westfield/Michigan) with 14 points. The juniors had the game’s top scorer. Asia Donald (Hobart) finished with 20 points.