The Mount Vernon Patriots's game on Thursday was all tied up 23-23 at the half, but sadly for them it didn't stay that way. They took a hard 61-43 fall against Juneau-Douglas. While losing is never fun, Mount Vernon 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 124th in Utah, while Juneau-Douglas is ranked 14th in Alaska).
Mount Vernon lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Joao De Oliveira, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds. Those 16 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Andrew McMurdie, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Mount Vernon has fallen quite a ways from their 16-8 record last season and are now at 2-8. As for Juneau-Douglas, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Mount Vernon will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Utah School for the Deaf & Blind at 4:30 p.m. on January 10, 2024. Juneau-Douglas will finish 2023 at home by hosting Eagle River at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
