MOUNT VERNON – When your best players play like the best players, it makes things difficult for your opponent.
That’s what Mount Vernon found out Friday night. Ashland’s best players, Luke Denbow and Grayson Steury, combined for 57 points and led the Arrows to a 71-57 victory over the host Yellow Jackets in Ohio Cardinal Conference boys basketball action.
“Their two best players were their two best players and they knocked down shots,” said Mount Vernon coach Nick Coon. “Their guards, especially Luke Denbow, a tremendous player.
“Give credit to them, But, I thought our kids fought hard and didn’t give up or give in.”
The Arrow duo combined for 21 points in the third quarter to break open a tie game and propel Ashland to the victory. Denbow really got things going in the third period, scoring 14 of his game-high 30 points. He was a factor all over the court, dishing out two assists and grabbing three rebounds as the Arrows (12-6 overall, 7-3 in the OCC) outscored Mount Vernon 23-16 in the frame.
“Luke is really special. I’ve been fortunate to watch that and experience that for four years,” said Ashland coach Jason Hess. “He’s one of those kids that does so many things and scores in so many ways.
“His shots weren’t falling early. He just stayed the course. He calmed himself down a little bit and gathered himself and really had a big second half.”
The Arrows also turned up the defensive pressure on Mount Vernon (9-11, 5-6), holding the Jackets to just 3-of-13 shooting from the 3-point line in the second half.
“Our big key tonight was how we played defense and rebounded,” Hess said. “I think that was our best defensive effort all year. We just had to stay connected.
“They have several very capable shooters. We helped (inside), but had to stay on their shooters.”
Even with the defensive pressure of Ashland, Coon felt his team got some good looks at the basket. They just couldn’t get anything to fall.
“I think we did some good things offensively, we just didn’t consistently knock down shots,” Coon said. “We shot well below our season average and just couldn’t quite keep up the pace they were shooting it at.
“I think if you’re able to score more consistently, that slows them down and they’re not getting that transition game going and getting some easy buckets.”
After opening up the lead, it was Steury who took over for the Arrows. The junior guard had six straight points midway through the fourth quarter that put the dagger through MV’s heart.
The first half was one of runs, as MV scored seven straight to open up a 13-5 lead. But, Ashland responded with nine unanswered to retake the lead. Both teams hit big shots, but weren’t able to pull away and headed to the locker room knotted at 27.
To go along with his 30 points, Denbow also pulled down 11 rebounds, handed out four assists and had two steals for the Arrows. Steury had 27 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Keslar Bates contributed eight points and five rebounds.
Mount Vernon was led by Nolan Belcher, who had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists. Beau Bridges added 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Trevor Buttke had 12 points and four boards. Caden Rowland had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
