MOUNT VERNON — This one had all the makings of an exciting Ohio Capital Conference clash between last season’s Capital Division co-champions and, for awhile, it was.
The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets’ offense started with a sizzle but ended with fizzle, as the visiting Olentangy Orange Pioneers (4-1, 2-1 OCC) won Tuesday’s game at The Hive, 41-32.
The loss brings the Yellow Jackets’ 13-game home winning streak to an end, dropping their conference record to 1-2. Mount Vernon is 4-3 overall.
As late as the middle of the third quarter, Mount Vernon was only down by a point, 26-25, after Duke Cunningham (13 points, six rebounds) landed a 3-pointer.
After that, the Jackets’ shooting went cold and the turnovers mounted. The Jackets gave up 18 turnovers compared to the Pioneers’ 12.
“We wanted to shut down (Olentangy’s Nick Deitsch) and, I think, we did an excellent job of that,” said Mount Vernon coach Kurt Kaufman. “I think, defensively, there were no issues — we played great defense but, offensively, we stalled and didn’t get the ball reversed and we turned the ball over too much. You can’t do that against a team like (Olentangy.) They thrive on that and they are able to score off our turnovers.”
Mount Vernon was held scoreless in the final half of the third quarter. The defense, however, kept the Jackets in the game. Only Cunningham and Eric Ashbrook landed a basket in the third quarter. The defense, however, was able to hold Deitsch to four points for the game.
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