Mount Vernon boys’ basketball is enjoying a three-game win streak.

On Monday, Feb. 3, they won at Independence, 66-46. Then on Friday, Feb. 7, they beat Marion, 65-63. And capped the week with a win over Fort Madison, 61-50, on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The win over the Wolves was significant because Marion had just beat the Mustangs 65-46 back on Jan. 21 in Marion.

“They threw a curveball to us last time in the second half that we were
more prepared for this time,” Mount Vernon coach Derek Roberts said.

“We overall had a better gameplan and idea going into this match up. “Although their record may not show it, they are one of the most dangerous teams on our schedule. They are great 3-point shooters and no lead is safe with them.”

That was made clear Friday. The Mustangs led 31-19 at halftime, but the Wolves got hot from distance. They closed to within two points, 65-63, and got two foul shots with 0.5 seconds left.

They missed the first and intentionally missed the second.

“We were able to grab the rebound and box them out so they weren’t able to tip it in,” Roberts said.

Mount Vernon started slow at Independence, trailing 17-15 after one quarter, but poured it on.

“We turned up the defensive intensity and did a good job driving the ball as a team and getting into the paint offensively,” Roberts said. “We also had great efforts on the boards and that allowed us to secure extra possessions.”

Joe Briesemeister led the attack with 20 points. Kellen Haverback had 17 points and six rebounds. Seth Rushford added 11 points.

The win over Fort Madison (9-8) was accomplished with defense.

“They are a much larger and more athletic team than we’ve faced so far, so that was good to see as we prepare for the postseason,” Roberts said. Mount Vernon (15-4, 11-3 WaMaC) is a half-game up on Solon and Center Point-Urbana in the WaMaC East.

They close the regular season with Clear Creek Amana on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at XTream Arena, and at home Friday, Feb. 14, against Grinnell.