Wildcats make North earn win

By: Corey Woolsey
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Corey Woolsey

Mount Vernon's Brian Koch works to keep the ball against a North defender during last week's game.

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Corey Woolsey

Bryce Newman charges the lane against two North players. Newman was able to pull the Wildcats to within two of the Huskies at halftime of the Wednesday, Dec. 21 game in Evansville, but North dominated the second half and came away with the win.

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Corey Woolsey

Tyler Ritzert lays one in for Mount Vernon

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The Mount Vernon Wildcat boys basketball team had a rare opportunity last Wednesday. The team had a chance to upset a team opening a new venue.
The North Huskies opened their new gym with the Wildcats and Mount Vernon gave them a tough fight, at least for the first two and a half quarters, falling 87-66.
The Wildcats came out aggressive and were able to match the Huskies nearly shot for shot in the first quarter. The Huskies were up with a 19-16 lead after the quarter came to a close.
In the second quarter the Huskies began to pull away from the Wildcats a bit, but Bryce Newman was able to close the gap, hitting a buzzer beating three to make the score 34-32 in favor of North going into halftime.
The second half started much the same for both teams, but the Huskies began to show their dominance. North began executing long full court inbound passes and scoring on quick basket attacking attempts. Mount Vernon could not contain the Huskies and could not keep up, losing the game by 21.
Helping the Wildcats stay in the game was Brian Koch, who just recently returned to the lineup from an injury suffered during the football season. Koch led all Wildcat scorers with 18. Bryce Newman added 14 and Troy Paris played well also, scoring 13 including five for five from the line.
Mount Vernon will look to rebound when they host Washington on Friday night.