The Mount Vernon boys basketball wrapped another season with head coach Ed Timm in the first round on their home court. The year concluded at 10-12.
Timm said in the fall his team has had the same goal for the last 30 years, which is, “to keep things really, really simple, so that the guys can just play hard.”
The Mustangs had three returning letterwinners in Jensen Meeker, Owen Brase, and Joey Rhomberg.
Returning coaches were Marty Knake, the freshmen coach, Richie Longston, the sophomore coach and varsity assistant coach Derek Roberts.
Below is a look back at the season.
Tuesday, Nov. 30The Mustangs hosted the Williamsburg Raiders on Tuesday, with the Raiders outscoring the home team 60-35.
Brady Erickson led the way for the Mustangs with 10 points and going 5-10 from the field.
Williamsburg 16 17 18 9 60
Mount Vernon 7 13 9 6 35
Friday, Dec. 3 The Mustangs picked up a win on the road when they challenged the Center Point-Urbana Stormin’ Pointers, coming out on top 45-42.
Joey Rhomberg propelled the team with 18 points, while going 5-7 from behind the arc.
Owen Brase chipped in eight points, five assists, and five rebounds.
Saturday, Dec. 4The Mustangs lost a close contest on the road with Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The J-Hawks prevailed 51-45 after jumping out to a 21-4 lead by the end of the first quarter.
“We are inconsistent right now,” said Mustangs head coach Ed Timm. “The guys are working hard.”
Mount Vernon 4 17 11 13 45
Cedar Rapids Jefferson 21 10 7 13 51
Tuesday, Dec. 7A road game with the South Tama Trojans found the Mustangs on top with a score of 68-27.
Brady Erickson led the team with 16 points and three assists. Jensen Meeker was right behind, chipping in 15.
Mount Vernon 15 15 17 21 68
South Tama 7 6 8 6 27
Friday, Dec. 10 A home game against Clear Creek-Amana resulted in a 56-37 loss for the Mustangs.
Clear Creek-Amana 14 15 14 13 56
Mount Vernon 2 7 15 13 37
Tuesday, Dec. 14The Mustangs defeated the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings 46-30 on the Vikings’ home court.
Mount Vernon 16 11 7 12 46
Vinton-Shellsburg 7 4 3 16 30
Friday, Dec. 17The Mustangs hosted the 5-1 Marion Wolves Friday, winning handily 47-29.
Marion 5 6 11 7 29
Mount Vernon 10 12 8 17 47
Tuesday, Dec. 21Mount Vernon came out on top in a 62-59 overtime win at West Delaware. The Mustangs improved to 5-3.
Mount Vernon 13 3 14 14 3 15 62
West Delaware 15 9 12 8 3 12 59
Tuesday, Jan. 4The Mustangs hosted the Maquoketa Cardinals, and came out on the wrong end of a 53-32 score.
Maquoketa 6 13 13 21 53
Mount Vernon 2 8 15 7 32
Saturday, Jan. 8Mount Vernon was again at home Saturday evening, as they hosted the Xavier Saints, coming out on top 61-52.
Brady Erickson led the team’s offense with 25 points.
Xavier 2 18 8 18 6 52
Mount Vernon 6 13 15 12 15 61
Tuesday, Jan. 11The Blazers hopped out to a first half advantage of 15-12, and took a 39-29 victory.
Beckman Catholic 11 4 5 19 39
Mount Vernon 6 6 6 11 29
Saturday, Jan. 15The Mustangs couldn’t fend off a challenge from the visiting Solon Spartans, as their rivals got the best of them 44-31.
Mount Vernon fell to 6-6 overall following the loss.
Solon 7 9 13 15 44
Mount Vernon 8 9 3 11 31
Tuesday, Jan. 18The Mustangs improved to 7-6 on a Tuesday win over the visiting Independence squad, who are themselves named the Mustangs.
The final score of 63-61 was built on critical plays by Rhomberg (a key three-pointer deep into the fourth period) and Ericksen (the final bucket of the game, with about eight seconds of play on the clock).
Independence 13 16 19 13 61
Mount Vernon 14 22 15 12 63
Friday, Jan. 21The Maquoketa Cardinals squeaked past the Mustangs 49-46.
“Maquoketa turned us over with under a minute to go and took a three-point lead to win the game,” said assistant coach Derek Roberts.
Maquoketa 8 11 19 11 49
Mount Vernon 8 19 5 14 46
Tuesday, Jan. 25The Mustangs traveled Tuesday to take on the Marion Wolves, who sent them home with a 55-33 loss.
Mount Vernon 7 6 11 9 33
Marion 8 15 20 12 55
Friday, Jan. 28The Mustangs bounced back Friday with a 57-51 triumph over the visiting West Delaware Hawks.
With the win, the Mustangs improved to 7-6.
West Delaware 8 10 22 11 51
Mount Vernon 19 6 13 19 57
Monday, Jan. 31The Mustangs traveled to Anamosa to take on the Blue Raiders, dropping the decision 45-32.
Mount Vernon 7 5 10 10 32
Anamosa 12 12 5 16 45
Friday, Feb. 4The Mustangs played host to the Beckman Catholic Trailblazers back at full strength, prevailing 59-52.
Evan Brase led the team in scoring with 22 points to go along with six rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Beckman Catholic 2 20 13 17 52
Mount Vernon 9 8 20 22 59
Tuesday, Feb. 8The Mustangs headed to Solon Tuesday to take on the Spartans, falling a little short 55-47.
Joey Rhomberg led the team with 18 points, while Ryan Naeve, a senior, and Jackson Kutcher, a sophomore, each provided 9 points in the effort.
Mount Vernon 10 17 15 5 47
Solon 9 6 22 18 55
Friday, Feb. 11The Mustangs hosted the Benton Community Bobcats on senior night.
The home team outscored the Bobcats 17-14 in the fourth period to secure a 60-46 win, improving their record to 10-10.
Benton 10 14 8 14 46
Mount Vernon 11 12 20 17 60
Tuesday, Feb. 15The Mustangs dropped a home game 47-45 to the visiting Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks.
Brady Erickson led the team in scoring with 16.
The loss dropped the Mustangs to 10-11 in their last game of the regular season.
Monday, Feb. 21 The basketball season came to an end Feb. 21 on their home court.
The 3A first round playoff found the Mustangs hosting the Mount Pleasant Panthers, who defeated their hosts 60-55 in double overtime.
The loss brought the Mustangs’ final record to 10-12.
Mount Pleasant 12 11 11 15 4 7 60
Mount Vernon 9 15 15 10 4 2 55

Gallery • 3 Photos

Trent Bowman

Mount Vernon’s Brady Erickson (No. 20) looks to get past a defender.