Mount Vernon Defeats Eagles Again

GISA Defending State Champs Mount Vernon Mustangs

by HS Hoops

For the second time this season, the Augusta Eagles were defeated by the Mount Vernon Mustangs in Mount Vernon's home gym in Atlanta, Georgia.  Tuesday's (January 17) 55-43 loss drops Augusta's record to 14-4 for the season.  Mount Vernon, the defending Georgia Independent Schools (GISA) AAA state champions, improve to 20-2 for the season.

The Eagles took an early 13-6 lead after early offense from Austin Crown, Dominic Brown, and Jacob Greenway.  But the Mustangs closed the initial quarter with a 7-0 run, including a buzzer beating shot from behind half court by Ty Hudson, to even the score at 13-13.  After Mount Vernon took a brief 25-21 lead late in the second quarter, Crown and Augusta's Matt Miller each made a three pointer to tie the game at 27 heading to intermission.

Both teams' man to man defenses performed well during the first half.  Points were hard to come by as jump shots were contested, driving lanes were closed, and good positioning allowed each team to keep the other off the free throw line.  After a low scoring third quarter, Mount Vernon entered the final 8 minutes with a 37-36 lead.  But freshman guards Mikell Lands (20 points) and Ty Hudson (16 points) proved to be too much for the Eagles to handle on a cold shooting night, and the Mustangs established a late 6 point advantage before converting 3 layups in the game's final minutes against Augusta's full court trap.  Austin Crown led the Eagles with 18 points.

For the Eagles, the matchup with Mount Vernon is one of a series of stiff January tests.  After opening 2012 with a win against a scrappy Curtis Baptist (Augusta, GA) squad, the Eagles fell to the defending SCISA state champion Heathwood Hall Highlanders (Columbia, SC) on January 7.

The Eagles then defeated a strong Georgia Elite Christian team, a "club" team that features 7 footer John Egbunu, 57-56 in a scrimmage in Augusta on January 13.  See highlights from this exciting contest directly below.

The string of difficult January games continues Friday night in a game at the home gym of Savannah's Faith Baptist.  The Eagles then meet GISA power First Presbyterian Saturday, followed by another contest with Curtis Baptist (Tuesday, January 24) and a home game against the Easley Guardians (Friday, January 27).  January's final contest is Saturday, January 28, against Fox Creek High School in the kickoff game (noon) of the William Avery Invitational.  This game will be played at Christenberry Fieldhouse, the home of the Augusta State University Jaguars.