Marauders upend #8 Warren Central

Mt. Vernon had an impressive 62-47 victory over 4A #8 Warren Central tonight, as the Marauders got an early lead and took advantage of Warren's foul trouble to pull ahead in the second quarter.

MV then never looked back, maintaining a lead that was in double-digits for much of the second half, and responding to Warren Central's best run midway through the third quarter -- one that cut a Marauder lead to 6 -- with an 8-2 spurt of their own to go back up by double-digits.

The Marauders then salted things away at the free throw line -- matter of fact, MV only hit one field goal in the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer by Alex Payne from the top of the key, but outscored the Warriors 23-16 thanks to 20-of-24 FT shooting in the final eight minutes.

C.J. Coleman led the Marauders with 18 points, including 9-of-11 from the line. Anthony Burnett hit 13-of-14 from the stripe -- including his last 13 -- and scored 17 points. Payne & Dan Werner scored eight each -- Werner with six first-quarter points to kick-start the Marauders. Payne had six in the fourth quarter.

MV hit 32-of-39 from the line. Warren Central outscored the Marauders 38-30 from the field -- MV hit 13 field goals, four of them 3s, while WC hit 17 shots, including four 3s -- but the Marauders had a decided free throw edge. WC was 9-of-16.

The Warriors -- who were playing their third game in four days -- fell to 12-5 on the season. MV, which won its sixth straight, is now 12-4.

Both teams play at Lawrence Central next. The Marauders' tilt will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The other 3 Hancock County teams will next be in action Thursday. Greenfield-Central hosts Knightstown, New Palestine travels to Franklin and Eastern Hancock will host Triton Central. We will have the EH-TC game at HancockCountySports.com!

More hoops

We have a BIG schedule of games next week:
Monday: Warren Central at Mt. Vernon, including WC guard (and IU recruit) Devin Davis
Thursday: Triton Central at Eastern Hancock
Friday: Girls sectional semifinal, TBA
Saturday, Girls sectional final, TBA

Make sure to log on to HancockCountySports.com and listen!

Soccer pairings

The soccer regional pairings are set

2A boys soccer regional at Mt. Vernon
Thursday, Oct. 13
5 p.m.: #12 Center Grove (16-1-2) vs. Warren Central (5-12-1)
7 p.m.: Roncalli (11-5-1) vs. Greenfield-Central (13-3-2) (broadcast: www.hancockcountysports.com)

Saturday, Oct. 15
7 p.m.: Championship (HancockCountySports.com will broadcast if G-C wins semifinal match)


2A girls soccer regional at Shelbyville
Thursday, Oct. 13
5 p.m.: #11 New Palestine (16-0-3) vs. Center Grove (12-3-2)
7 p.m.: Warren Central (14-5-1) vs. Perry Meridian (14-5)

Saturday, Oct. 15
7 p.m.: Championship
(note: HancockCountySports.com will broadcast the championship match from Shelbyville if New Palestine's girls advance and Greenfield-Central's boys do not).

In addition to soccer, join us for two other broadcasts this week:
Monday: Volleyball: Mt. Vernon at New Palestine, 6:30 p.m. (approx. start time)
A rematch of Saturday's county title match, the Marauders visit the Dragons for their regular-season contest. MV won 25-18, 25-17 in the county final on Saturday, and the two teams have a quick turnaround this week.

Friday: Football: New Palestine at Mt. Vernon, 7 p.m.
The Battle for the Boundary Rail continues yet again with the 44th regular-season meeting between the two teams. NP c an win the outright HHC title with a win, and also can clinch its first unbeaten season since 1988 if it is successful. MV is trying to shake a two-game skid, but the Marauders have allowed just two touchdowns in the last 12 quarters of play. Last year's matchup was a 7-0 thriller won by the Dragons.