A bad start to the third quarter was enough to throw Mount Vernon off its axis, and allowed No. 4 Solon to cruise to a 56-46 victory on Friday, Feb. 2, in Mount Vernon.
The Spartans improved to 16-0.
“They make you pay for your mistakes,” Mount Vernon coach Derek Roberts said. “We came out a little bit wide-eyed that third quarter.”
Mount Vernon (11-6) was celebrating the return of Joey Rhomberg, back from injury and playing for the first time since before Christmas break.
And the Mustangs built a 22-19 lead by half.
Then Jake Benzig and Vince Steinbrech combined to lead Solon on a 10-0 run.
By the time Rhomberg converted a 3-point play with 4:36 left in the quarter – the first Mustang points of the second half – the damage had been done.
“They are one of the more physical teams in the state, so it was definitely a challenge,” Rhomberg said. “I’m proud of our guys. We battled the whole way.”
The Mustangs also started the second half without leading scorer Jackson Kutcher, sitting with a leg injury, and post Joe Briesemeister, who had taken a hit to the face. And MV was also playing without starter Oliver Heinrichs.
“That’s my fault as a leader,” Rhomberg said. “We’ve got to be ready to go, we’ve got to come out firing.”
Kutcher and Briesemeister eventually got back into the game. The Solon lead, which had jumped to nine points midway through the third, was cut to four, 38-34, with a Kutcher 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter.
But the Mustangs never got closer. And Solon senior Rylen Stiegelmeyer finished with a flourish, hitting three 3-pointers, including a 4-point play, in the final four minutes.
Steinbrech (19), Benzing (20) and Stiegelmeyer (15) accounted for 54 of Solon’s 56 points.
Rhomberg, who played with padding on his chest, had 11 points. Kutcher added 10 and Briesemeister had six points and nine rebounds.
The Mustangs, who went 5-4 without Rhomberg, have a busy week to work him back in. They hosted West Delaware on Tuesday, Feb. 6, then are at Marion on Thursday, Feb. 8, and back home for Grinnell on Friday, Feb. 9. They close the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 13, at Washington (Iowa). Postseason pairings should come out this week.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but we are also over the hump, I can feel it,” Rhomberg said. “The guys can feel it. We’re almost there.”
Mount Vernon started the week with a 49-34 loss against No. 8 Marion, moved to Monday, Jan. 29, to accommodate the regional wrestling dual.
Wolves 49, Mustangs 34
MARION (49) – Austin Goodrich 3-9 0-0 2, Jordan Fischer 0-7 1-2 1, Josh Noll 5-10 0-0 13, Grayson Kirsch 1-6 0-0 3, Kylar Whitman 5-8 2-4 12, Tyler Farber 2-5 0-0 6, Tait Rahe 1-4 0-0 3, Logan Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Kaleb Diers 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 19-51 3-6 49.
MOUNT VERNON (34) – Joe Briesemeister 6-10 4-4 16, Jack Kutcher 4-10 2-2 10, Kellen Haverback 2-6 0-2 4, Cooper Parks 0-5 2-2 2, Oliver Heinrichs 1-1 0-0 2, Stratton Ellyson 0-0 0-0 0, Gabe Fairchild 0-0 0-0 0, McDermott 0-0 0-0 0, Atti Rood 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Thurn 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Rushford 0-0 0-0 0, Seth Rushford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-33 8-10 34.
Marion 15 12 12 10 – 49
Mount Vernon 6 9 10 9 – 34
3-point goals – Marion 8-27 (Goodrich 1-5, Fischer 0-4, Noll 3-7, Kirsch 1-2, Whitman 0-1, Farber 2-4, Rahe 1-4), MV 0-12 (Briesemeister 0-2, Kutcher 0-5, Haverback 0-2, Parks 0-3). Rebounds – Marion 25 (Whitman 6), MV 27 (Briesemeister 7, Kutcher 7). Assists – Marion 14 (Goodrich 4), MV 5. Turnovers – Marion 11, MV 23. Total fouls – Marion 12, MV 15.
Spartans 56, Mustangs 46
SOLON (56) – Austin Knight 0-0 0-0 0, Rylen Stiegelmeyer 4-8 4-5 15, Vince Steinbrech 7-17 5-10 19, Jake Benzing 7-20 2-2 20, Gehrig Turner 0-5 0-0 0, Nolan Seagren 0-1 0-0 0, Brett White 0-1 0-0 0, Isaiah Zoske 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson Link 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 11-17 56.
MOUNT VERNON (46) – Joey Rhomberg 5-10 1-3 11, Jack Kutcher 3-10 2-2 10, Kellen Haverback 3-13 2-2 9, Joe Briesemeister 2-4 2-2 6, Cooper Parks 1-5 2-2 5, Cole Thurn 1-3 0-0 2, Jonah Williams 1-2 0-0 2, AJ McDermott 0-0 1-2 1, Stratton Ellyson 0-1 0-0 0, Seth Rushford 0-1 0-0 0, Gabe Fairchild 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 10-13 46.
Solon 6 13 19 18 – 56
Mount Vernon 11 11 7 15 – 46
3-point goals – Solon 7-23 (Stiegelmeyer 3-6, Benzing 4-12, Turner 0-2, Seagren 0-1, Zoske 0-1), MV 4-17 (Rhomberg 0-1, Kutcher 2-7, Haverback 1-6, Parks 1-3). Rebounds – Solon 36 (Steinbrech 17), MV 29 (Briesemeister 9). Assists – Solon 11, MV 11 (Kutcher 5). Turnovers – Solon 16, MV 18. Total fouls – Solon 17, MV 19.
Mount Vernon senior Joey Rhomberg drive the baseline past the Solon defense Friday, Feb. 2, in Mount Vernon.