Hagans plays hero in heartstopper

MOUNT VERNON — For the second-straight year, the Mt. Pleasant and Mount Vernon boys basketball team had an absolute dogfight in the substate tournament, and on Monday night, Panther sophomore Payton Hagans showed he was the biggest dog in the yard.

Hagans made shot after shot to help will the Panther boys past the Mustangs 60-55 in double-overtime to survive the Class 3A Substate 5 opener.

“He's an animal,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “He's got a lot of fight in him.”

Hagans’ biggest shot of the night came when the Panthers needed it most. Trailing 49-46 in the waning seconds of regulation, Hagans nailed a step-back three-pointer to tie the game with 12 ticks left.

“To be honest, I was just feeling it the whole game,” Hagans said. “That shot, I wanted it to be in my hands.”

Mount Vernon couldn’t connect on the other end and an already-thrilling game was going to overtime.

“I was hyped, I'm not going to lie,” Hagans said. “I wanted to start jumping but I had to get back on defense.”

And there were plenty of fireworks left.

Mt. Pleasant found itself trailing once more in the first overtime period. The Panthers were down 53-51 with 40 seconds to go when Owen Vansickel found some space near the baseline and floated in a shot that tied the game again.

“I just saw a lane and I pulled up,” Vansickel said. “I know what my role is. I've got to be ready to shoot the ball.”

A solid defensive effort on the ensuing Mount Vernon possession allowed the Panthers last-second heave to try and win it, and Aaiden Ashton hit the backboard but the shot was just to the right of the hoop, an the game went into a second extra period, knotted 53-53.

Trailing 55-53 in the second overtime, Hagans took over again. First, he nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer, his fifth three in five attempts after halftime, to put the Panthers up one point. Then, on the next possession, he was blocked on a 3-pointer, but hustled after the loose ball to earn a layup.

“Payton, he's a dog,” said senior Dewon Trent. “He just keeps going.”

Mount Vernon had a couple of shots to tie the game in the final seconds, but the Mustangs couldn’t get it done. Hagans knocked down a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left to ice the game.

“It felt real good,” said Trent. “Last year we couldn't pull it, but this year we pulled it out.”

Hagans knocked down six 3-pointers total and finished the night with a game-high 26 points. Trent finished with 15. Vansickel had nine. Carter Amos put in five. Aaiden Ashton had three, and Dylon Hagans added two.

The Panthers beat the Mustangs by nearly an identical score to last year. Mount Vernon knocked off Mt. Pleasant 59-55 in last season’s substate semis.

“Mount Vernon defends like I clinic,” said Rawson. “I have so much respect for their program, and (head coach) Ed Timm.”

Mt. Pleasant is now 9-13 on the year. They will play at top-seeded Marion (17-5) on Thursday. Second-seeded Fort Madison (18-4) will host third-seeded Clear Creek-Amana (15-7) on the other side of the bracket.