By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
Skip Brock, boys basketball coach at Mount Vernon High School, is hoping a strong schedule will pay dividends this week in the MSHSAA Class 3 Tournament.
“You expect to play a great team in the semifinals,” Brock said on Tuesday. “(Kansas City) Hogan Prep Academy definitely is an outstanding team.
“They’re well-coached (by Steve Stitzer) and they’re very athletic,” Brock said of the Rams. “They apply pressure defense. Offensively, they’ll spread you out in hopes of taking advantage of that quickness and athleticism.
“They play an extremely difficult schedule,” Brock said. “That’s why we play the schedule we do during the early part of the regular season ... to help prepare us for this.”
Mount Vernon (24-7), unranked in the final regular-season poll by the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, challenges the No.3 Rams (22-6) at 5 p.m. today in Mizzou Arena at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
The first semifinal at 3:20 p.m. matches St. Louis teams Cardinal Ritter (24-5), which is No. 4, and unranked Whitfield (21-10).
The title contest will be held at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday. Third place will be determined at 1:40 p.m. on Friday.
Whitfield lost 73-55 to Maplewood Richmond Heights in the championship game last season.
Added Brock: “The entire Hogan team impresses me. They have good players on the perimeter and a standout on the inside. They play well together and understand their roles. That, of course, is a credit to their coach.”
The Hogan offensive leaders, according to Brock, are 6-foot-4 senior Dawon Cummings, 6-6 junior Dominique Washington and 6-2 sophomore Maurice Mason. They helped the Rams finish 20-8 last season.
Probable starters for Mount Vernon are 5-10 freshman Shane Williams, 6-1 sophomore Kaden Jones, 6-2 senior Jackson Tettenhorst, 6-4 senior Josh Engler and 6-5 senior all-stater Zack Kleine.
Juniors Sam Cowherd, 6-0, and Blake Grooms, 6-1, key the Mountaineer bench, Brock said.
Completing the roster are 5-11 junior M.J. Swortwood, 5-10 sophomore Hunter Brown and 6-3 freshman Zane Phillips.
Brock said that 6-4 sophomore Eric Wilmoth is out with a knee injury.
Brock, who’s assisted by Chris Johnston, Jim Kleine and Mike Ray, is in his second stint as Mount Vernon head coach. This is his eighth campaign after an earlier seven years. He’s nearing 350 career wins in 22 seasons.
Mount Vernon is making its fourth trip to the semifinals and is seeking its first win. Hogan has a third and a fourth.
