Mountaineers earn first conference win against Cassville

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Mt. Vernon hosted Cassville in Big 8 Conference action on Tuesday night.  The Mountaineers shot the lights out and walked out of the gym with their first conference victory defeating the Wildcats 66-41.
 
After a disappointing performance last week against McDonald County, the Mountaineers were looking to bounce back and did so in a big way in front of their home crowd.
 
“It’s been a while since played at home,” said Mt. Vernon head coach Mike Ray.  “It’s good to be with our home crowd, home rims.  We had a great week of practice since our game against McDonald County and it showed tonight.  We played our most consistent game so far this year.”

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Both teams shot the ball pretty well in the first quarter.  Cassville went 6-for-11 on field goals but was bested by the Mountaineers 70% pace.  Mt. Vernon built up to a 4-point lead, but a three-pointer from Taylor Arndt got the Wildcats back within a point by the end of the quarter.
 
Mt. Vernon (5-7, 1-1) continued to hit their shots while Cassville was able to only make two field goals in the second period, albeit they were treys from senior Noah Hadlow.  Hadlow led the Wildcats with nine points; Arndt and Trey Dalton scored eight points each in the loss.
 
Defense from the Mountaineers was a key factor in building the 31-20 halftime lead.  Brett Campbell came off the bench to nab three steals for Mt. Vernon and the team converted five points off those Cassville turnovers.
 
“Cassville has some quick players so we went to a little match-up zone in the second quarter,” said Coach Ray.  Coach Ray said they have been bringing Campbell off the bench as he has been recovering from a sprained ankle.  “We limited his minutes a little tonight but when he’s in there he brings lots of energy and did good things for us.”
 
The second half was pretty much the same as the first for Mt. Vernon.  Jarrett Massie started a 15-0 run that ended the third quarter.  Massie led all scorers with 15 points and teammate Trace Williams scored 12 and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
“Trace has been a starter for three years and has been a role player,” Coach Ray said, “but he’s starting to step into the limelight a little bit.  He’s really worked hard.”
 
The Mountaineers had little trouble in finding the bottom of the basket as they shot 60% for the game.  Cassville head coach Barrett Milleson couldn’t find much to be critical of about his team, but gave credit to Mt. Vernon.  “They’re good,” said Coach Milleson of Mt. Vernon more than once.
 
Cassville (4-8, 0-1) will next hit the court on Thursday against Carl Junction.  Mt. Vernon will play East Newton this Friday, but has several difficult games ahead of them as they follow up Friday’s game with Aurora, Strafford, and Clever.
 
Mt. Vernon:       15, 16, 19, 16—66
Cassville:              14, 6, 9, 12—41
 
Mt. Vernon: Boswell, 8; Campbell, 5; Cordray, 8; Cornell, 3; Hadlock, 5; Massie, 15; Walters, 10; Williams, 12
Cassville: Arndt, 8; Dalton, 8; Hadlow, 9; Kellner, 4; Lambel, 4; Pearman, 6; Speakman, 2

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