Jackets flying high after win

MOUNT VERNON — Riding high from a pair of weekend wins, including one over state-ranked Dublin Scioto, the Mount Vernon High School boys basketball team is preparing for a another big weekend. The Jackets have games at Pickerington Central on Friday and at Marysville on Saturday.

Friday’s win over Worthington Kilbourne, coupled with a Pickerington Central Tigers loss, leaves the Jackets in a tie for second place with the Tigers with three conference games to play. Saturday’s upset of the Irish may help provide the momentum Mount Vernon needs to make a push before the postseason.

“I thought it was a good weekend for us,” said Mount Vernon coach Kurt Kaufman. “Anytime you can get two wins back-to-back, that makes it a good weekend. Our kids continue to improve and we keep stressing to them that it is a long season. If they keep improving and are playing their best basketball at the end of the season, that’s all that is important. We are continuing to work hard.”

Beating Dublin Scioto wasn’t just a good accomplishment. It was a great one for the Jackets’ psyche.

“It is a good win for our program in the sense that our kids realize now that they can play with some of the teams that are considered the best in the Central District,” said Kaufman. “We always tell them that, but until they do and actually accomplish that, they don’t necessarily realize they can. I think our kids now know that with hard work and execution, we can compete and beat those teams. That is real key going into tournament play. Let’s face it. The kids have had a stumbling block when it came to tournament the last few years. They know now they can beat those teams.”

Coming into this weekend’s games, all eyes will be on Mount Vernon to see whether or not they can keep things going against the Tigers. Kaufman knows that, while his team’s big win was great, no one is going to lay down for them.

“One of the things we need to realize is that you are only as good as your last game,” Kaufman said. “Our last game is over now and we are looking forward to Friday. How we play Friday is how good we are, and how good we play Saturday is how good we are. We’ve got to continue to improve and we’ve got to show up and play each and every time. You don’t want to take two steps forward and one step back.”

In the first go-round, Pickerington Central shot 27-of-43 from the field and raced away with a 70-48 victory. On the flip side, Mount Vernon went just 16-of-45 from the field. Based upon his team’s recent play, those are two things that Kaufman expects to see reversed this time around.

“One of the biggest keys is our shot selection,” Kaufman said. “Our kids have been giving up a shot to get a better shot. We have really taken good shots and that is the big key to what we are doing. Also, defensively, we are getting better. We’ve got a ways to go, but our kids are improving.”

With both games on the road, the Jackets will need to play well in order to bring homes some victories. Their performance will determine how successful the weekend is.

“Ultimately, the ball still gets tossed up and you’re still playing whether you are playing in front of your home fans or not,” said Kaufman. “It is nice to be in front of your home fans, but you still have to play and execute.”

Both road games begin with a junior varsity contest at 6 p.m.