Ottumwa runs past Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT - The Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team saw its fourth quarter lead against Ottumwa turn into a double-digit Bulldog win on Monday night. Ottumwa ended the night on a 17-5 run to get out with a 58-47 win.

The Panthers led 42-41 with 5:30 remaining, but Ottumwa hit a 3-pointer in the corner to take the 44-42 lead. Mt. Pleasant tied the game at 44-44 on a pair of free throws from Chase Williamson, but the Bulldogs answered with two more of their own, and then things began to unravel.

Trailing 46-44 with 2:28 to go, Williamson tried to strip the ball away from a Bulldog ballhandler, but was called for a foul. Mt. Pleasant was assessed a technical foul for the team's reaction to the call, and Ottumwa would go 4-for-4 from the line to stretch the lead to 50-44, and the Panthers could never recover.

Williamson scored 16 points to lead the Panthers. Dewon Trent had 13, and Owen VanSickel scored 11 points to give the Panthers three double-digit scorers.

Mt. Pleasant is now 11-8 overall. The Panthers will have a 4-4 Southeast Conference record when they head to Fairfield (4-10, 2-6) on Friday night.