Mt. Pleasant boys lose nail-biter, bounce right back

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team entered Saturday’s home game against West Burlington with a chip on its shoulder.

The Panthers were one-night removed from a 47-45 loss in the Southeast Conference opener in Fort Madison, but they were able to bounce right back with a 73-53 win over the Falcons.

“We were really concerned about it,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “We really had a hard-fought game last night.”

On Friday, the Panthers clawed back from a double-digit deficit to nearly tie the game at the buzzer, but a final shot just rolled off the rim to help the Bloodhounds hang on.

Dewon Trent had 17 points and seven rebounds in the loss at Fort Madison. Payton Hagans scored 13. Dylon Hagans finished with six. Aaiden Ashton had five, and Owen Vansickel finished with four.

On Saturday, it was Mt. Pleasant that had the hot start. The Panthers led 23-16 after one quarter, 34-31 at halftime and 52-42 after three periods.

One night after scoring just four on the road, Vansickel exploded against West Burlington, dropping 25 points to lead the Panthers to victory.

“We've had trouble in the past with their press,” Vansickel said. “We did a good job with our press break, and we just took care of the ball.”

Vansickel pointed to the flow of the Panther backcourt. He says the squad is coming together, and that freed him up to see quality shots.

“Our chemistry is there in a big way,” Vansickel said. “We've just been comfortable with each other.”

Payton Hagans had 17 points in the win over West Burlington. Dylon Hagans scored 12. Trent had eight. Ashton finished with six, and Carter Amos scored four.

Mt. Pleasant is now 1-2 overall and 0-1 in SEC play. They’ll host Keokuk on Friday.