The Mt. Vernon Rams will head out on the road to take on the Herrin Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Mt. Vernon is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.8 points per game this season.
Mt. Vernon is headed into the match having just suffered their closest defeat since November 30th on Saturday. They fell just short of Alton by a score of 45-43. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while the Redbirds are ranked eighth).
| 12/28/24 vs Alton | 12 |
| 11/27/24 vs Granite City | 8 |
| 12/13/24 vs Centralia | 7 |
| 11/22/23 vs Granite City | 6 |
| 11/30/24 vs Triad | 6 |
Mt. Vernon's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jake Page, who posted 12 points, and Cale Maurer, who had eight points and five rebounds. The dominant performance gave Page a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of David Barnes, who put up eight points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Herrin had already won ten in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.5 points) and they went ahead and made it 11 on Saturday. They came out on top against the Lions by a score of 61-50.
Mt. Vernon better focus on containing Jared Staple Jr. and Kyrese Lukens as the pair were huge in Herrin's win. Staple Jr. went 7 of 13 on his way to 24 points, while Lukens went 6 of 11 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. With that strong performance, Staple Jr. is now averaging an impressive 15.5 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Grady Cox, who posted seven points and six boards.
Herrin's win bumped their record up to 13-1. As for Mt. Vernon, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Mt. Vernon has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Herrin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Mt. Vernon strolled past Herrin in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 55-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mt. Vernon since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
