Behind 51 points from the Jarrard twins, Mt. Vernon held off a second-half comeback attempt from Hamilton Heights to take an 83-78 win. Gus Etchison started his senior campaign at Hamilton Heights with 39 points in the loss.

 

Mt. Vernon came out of the gates firing from deep, and cashing in as the Marauders connected on their first four shots from behind the arc and would finish the half hitting seven of their ten three-point attempts. Hamilton Heights would keep in close behind the play of senior guard Gus Etchison. The Western Michigan commit had ten points in the opening period as Mt. Vernon carried a five-point lead heading to the quarter break.

 

The second period saw a rash of Hamilton Heights turnovers lead to easy points for the visitors, as Ahmad Jarrard threw down a couple of big dunks as Mt. Vernon saw their lead reach as many as 13 points. Etchison would close the half with five quick points but left points at the foul line as he connected on just three of six at the charity stripe. Avery Williams came off the bench with a spark for the Marauders as his seven first-half points helped give his side a nine-point halftime advantage.

 

Hamilton Heights would storm out of the locker room with a 14-2 run capped by a Gus Etchison three-pointer that gave the Huskies a 49-46 advantage. Etchison would have 13 points in the third quarter as Hamilton Heights scored 27 in the period to tie the game at 62 entering the fourth.

 

The final stanza saw Mt. Vernon take a six-point lead thanks to Ahmad Jarrard scoring the first six points in just over a minute. The six-point lead would persist until the midway point of the fourth quarter when Hamilton Heights tied it thanks to a three-pointer by Lucas Letsinger, who had seven in the fourth quarter. From there, untimely turnovers would doom Hamilton Heights, as Mt. Vernon would take a lead and hit enough free throws at the end to hold off the final Husky charge.

 

Mt. Vernon      - 24 20 18 21 - 83

Hamilton Heights - 19 16 27 16 - 78

 

Mt. Vernon: Armon Jarrard 29 points (10/14 FGs, 4/5 3Ps, 5/9 FTs), 5 rebs; Ahmad Jarrard 22 points (9/14 FGs, 1/3 3Ps, 3/6 FTs), 4 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls; Avery Williams 14 points (3/9 FGs, 1/4 3Ps, 7/9 FTs), 2 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls; Drew Walker 6 points (2/3 3Ps), 2 rebs; Eli Bridenthal 5 points; Chris Hays 3 points; Cooper Galli 2 points; Cole Herman 2 points; Razhaun Wells 5 rebs, 3 asts;

 

Hamilton Heights: Gus Etchison 39 points (13/24 FGs, 5/9 3Ps, 8/11 FTs), 6 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks; Lucas Letsinger 16 points (4/10 FGs, 3/7 3Ps, 5/6 FTs), 4 rebs; Noah Linville 12 points (4/5 FGs, 2/2 3Ps, 2/2 FTs), 5 rebs, 4 asts; Luke Carroll 7 points (2/5 FGs, 1/2 3Ps, 2/6 FTs), 6 rebs, 2 asts; Isaac Wilson 2 points (2/2 FTs), Braden Kinder 2 points