The Mt. Carmel Golden Aces were the 61-57 winner over the Mt. Vernon Wildcats when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Mt. Carmel lost to Mt. Vernon on the road by a decisive 55-36 margin on Saturday. While losing is never fun, Mt. Carmel can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 382nd in Illinois, while Mt. Vernon is ranked 75th in Indiana).
Mt. Carmel lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Shain Meador, who scored 11 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Meador has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Levi Beesley, who scored seven points along with three steals.
It was another big night for Nicot Burnett, who scored 28 points for Mt. Vernon. The game was Burnett's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Meyer Robb was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
This is the second loss in a row for Mt. Carmel and nudges their season record down to 1-2. As for Mt. Vernon, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mt. Carmel will face off against Flora at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Flora is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak. As for Mt. Vernon, they will head out on the road to face off against Gibson Southern at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
