The Christian County Colonels were looking for an early Christmas present on Tuesday afternoon as they played their second game of the Hardwood Classic at Calloway County High School.
Instead, Mount Vernon Township, Illinois, played the Grinch by routing the Colonels 69-39 in a boys’ high school basketball game.
The teams were tied 7-7 in the first quarter before the Rams (7-1) went on a 16-0 run that spanned the end of the first period and nearly half of the second quarter to take a 23-7 advantage.
Christian County (4-4) struggled shooting the ball and turnovers also were a problem in the first half for the Colonels.
Mount Vernon led 32-16 at halftime and pushed the lead to 54-26 after three quarters.
The Rams began clearing the bench early in the fourth quarter and still outscored the Colonels 15-13 in the final frame.
Zion Acree led the Colonels in scoring with nine points.
Cale Maurer and Lucas Shelby Jr. each had 16 points for the Rams.
Christian County is off until Saturday when the Colonels travel to Central Hardin to play Louisville Southern at 1:45 p.m. in the Planet Fitness Holiday Tournament.
Score by Quarters:
Mount Vernon 14 18 22 15 – 69
Christian County 7 9 10 13 – 39
Individual Scoring:
MVTHS (7-1) – Staples 4, Barnes 7, Wilson 2, Williams 3, Maurer 16, Shelby 16, Rudolph 1, Prost 2, Nesbit 7, Nelson 9, Brandon 2.
CCHS (4-4) – Acree 9, Wharton 3, Bigbee 3, Henderson 7, Sebree 2, Farley 3, Stevenson 6, Winston 6.
3-Point Goals: MVTHS – Williams, Shelby 4, Nesbit, Nelson; CCHS – Acree, Bigbee, Winston 2.
Photos by Joe Wilson