It was a good run, but the Mt. Vernon Rams unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 83-68 bruising from East St. Louis. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Mt. Vernon lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being David Barnes, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Navontae D nesbit jr., who scored 23 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
East St. Louis' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Robert McCline, who scored 29 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McCline has scored all season. Davis Bynum was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds.
Mt. Vernon's defeat dropped their record down to 16-6. As for East St. Louis, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
Mt. Vernon won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Salem at 6:00 p.m. on January 20th. Salem will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 291st, while Mt. Vernon is ranked 44th). East St. Louis on the road again on Friday and play against Alton at 7:30 p.m. on January 26th. Alton will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak alive.
