MARION — The Marion Wildcats will head into the postseason on a winning note thanks to a big night from sophomore Makhi House and big defensive stand in the final seconds that led to a 44-42 win over Mt. Vernon.
House tallied 23 points to help offset a monster night from Rams junior David Barnes. Barnes scored a game high 26 points, but with Marion leading by two in the final seconds, the Wildcats’ defense didn’t allow Barnes to touch the ball, and Mt. Vernon’s potential game-tying shot was off the mark with Sam Adkins corralling the rebound and dribbling out the clock for Marion.
Marion has now won six of seven and improves to 16-11, finishing 4-4 in the South Seven. Mt. Vernon falls to 21-8 and finishes 5-3 in the conference.
Postseason is next for both teams. The Wildcats will be headed to the Mascoutah 3A Regional as the 4th seed and will face the host 5th seeded Indians Wednesday night at 7:30 in the semifinals. The Rams will be at the Centralia 3A Regional, where they will face Carbondale in the 3-6 matchup at 7:00 Wednesday.
