Basketball Game Preview: Westfield Shamrocks vs. Mt. Vernon Marauders

The Westfield Shamrocks will venture away from home to face off against the Mt. Vernon Marauders at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a five-game winning streak alive.

Westfield is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Marion: they outscored them in every quarter. Westfield was the clear victor by a 74-49 margin over Marion on Saturday. The Shamrocks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 25 points or more this season.

Durante Morton continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 8 for 10 on his way to 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brock Detamore, who went 5 of 10 en route to 12 points.

Westfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Mt. Vernon beat Roncalli 52-40 last Friday. Given the Marauders' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Royals are ranked 26th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Luke Ertel and Conner Kesler. Ertel had a great game and went 8 of 12 on his way to 20 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Kesler did his best for the losing side, going 5 of 11 on his way to 13 points.

Westfield's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Mt. Vernon, their victory bumped their record up to 8-1.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Westfield has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Mt. Vernon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Westfield beat Mt. Vernon 41-30 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Westfield since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.