The Mt. Vernon Rams waltzed into their match on Thursday with two straight wins but they left with three. They had just enough and edged Charleston out 43-41. Given Mt. Vernon's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while Charleston is ranked 328th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Mt. Vernon to victory were Cale Maurer and Navontae D nesbit jr.. Maurer scored 16 points, while D nesbit jr. scored 17 points along with three steals. That makes it seven consecutive games in which D nesbit jr. has scored at least a third of Mt. Vernon's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Equinton Millsap, who scored two points along with three steals.
When it comes to explaining why Charleston lost, one person who can't be blamed is Adam Rudibaugh. Despite the final result, he scored 14 points. Tyler Oakley was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Mt. Vernon is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. As for Charleston, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-11.
Mt. Vernon won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against East St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. on January 19th. One thing working in East St. Louis' favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven games. Charleston's road trip will continue as they head out to face Carbondale at 12:30 p.m. on January 20th.
