MOUNT VERNON – Cade Stover’s big moment was outshined by Mount Vernon’s solid effort.
The Yellow Jackets were neck-and-neck with Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Lexington on Friday, but managed to pull away in the second half to score a 55-48 victory at The Hive.
Stover scored 17 points to lead both teams, setting Lexington’s all-time career scoring record in the process. But, his 17 wasn’t enough, as Mount Vernon shut the rest of the Minutemen down and built a late lead that could not be overcome.
Mount Vernon struggled to score in the paint, as Lexington’s Stover and Ben Vore proved to be too tall and too strong on defense. Once the Jackets began hitting from beyond the arc in the second half, it opened up that defense and allowed Mount Vernon to score from all over the court.
The Jackets attempted 25 free throws on the game, hitting 16 of them. Lexington was 6 for 11.
“Once we were able to get the floor spread, we were able to attack from underneath the basket,” Mount Vernon head coach Nick Coon said. “We were able to get to the free-throw line, which was huge for our scoring.”
Evan Boatwright, Jontey Greene and Connor Fisher scored on 3-pointers to break a 20-all halftime tie. Early in the fourth period, Spencer Bills fed Noah Gleason under the basket to give Mount Vernon a 39-31 advantage.
Gleason led all Jackets with 13 points, adding six boards and two steals. Gleason is the lone returning letterwinner from a team that graduated 10 seniors.
“He’s in a completely different role, and he’s still learning how to play at a high level,” Coon said. “Tonight, he did – especially on the defensive end. Those stats don’t always show up, but he gave an incredible effort tonight – all his teammates did – to earn this victory.”
Greene and Carson Carpenter each scored nine points. Boatwright and Jaxon Snyder added eight points apiece. Fisher added five, and Bills scored three.
“We almost had five players score in double-figures. That’s pretty good balance,” Coon said. “These guys are playing all new roles, and they’re developing nicely. We look at this game as one step forward. We have to make sure we continue to move forward, and not have those practices and games where we step back.”
The two teams have developed a rivalry over the years, which became more heated after last season. The two teams split their games, with Lexington winning in the season finale to knock Mount Vernon off its perch as the outright OCC champ.
The game was a classic defensive struggle at the start. The two teams combined for 11 points on 4-for-19 shooting, and had a total of 11 turnovers as the Jackets held a slim 6-5 lead.
Carpenter scored on a three-point play midway through the second period to build a 16-9 advantage. However, the Minutemen mounted an 11-4 run to close the first half.
Stover scored the first points of the game on a bucket just 30 seconds in. He was limited to four more shots for the rest of the half, connecting on two of them.
He reached the milestone late in the third quarter on a layup that brought the Minutemen to within six, 34-28.
“It was a complete team effort, defensively,” Coon said. “Stover’s going to get his points because he gets in position to score. But, we made him earn his 17 points, and we did a good job in limiting his teammates.”
Mount Vernon has no time to celebrate. The Jackets travel to Marysville to face a solid offense today.
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