The Mt. Vernon Rams won the last time they faced the Salem Wildcats, and things went their way on Saturday too. Mt. Vernon walked away with a 44-31 win over Salem. Given Mt. Vernon's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while Salem is ranked 291st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Navontae D nesbit jr., who scored 18 points along with two steals. That makes it nine consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Mt. Vernon's points. Cale Maurer was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks.
Mt. Vernon has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. As for Salem, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-15.
Mt. Vernon will be playing at home against Althoff Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Salem, Salem and Wesclin will face off at 7:45 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
