LEBANON — Albert Hendrix knew it was going to take a total team effort on Friday if his team was going to defeat Southmont.
The Mounties came in with a 10-4 record and some impressive wins on their resume.
Hendrix got exactly what he was looking for from his group, a well-rounded effort, leading the Tigers to their ninth win in 10 games with a 65-56 triumph over the Mounties.
“We hit some shots early and moved the basketball really well,” Hendrix said. “Kaden Lark and Jack (Ferrell) were huge contributors tonight scoring 24 and 20, but guys like Colin Fouts and Bryce Nelson were outstanding. Bryce did a great job guarding (Vince) Reimondo, holding him to three points in the second half and it was great to see him accept that role and do a great job with it. We got great contributions from Wesley (Byrd), Bryce Jones and Joel (Acton) too. It was just a great team win.”
The Mounties came into the game averaging more than 66 points a game, which was top-30 in the state.
And while they still scored more than Lebanon’s defensive average of 45 points a game coming in, the Tigers defensive effort made things difficult on the Mounties all night long and the visitors work for everything they got.
“They really bottled us up tonight,” Southmont head coach Michael Byrum said. “They are very physical on the ball and on our cuts — it was just a physical game. They did a really good job of that, and it made us timid at times — which is something we have to grow from.”
The Tigers led by six at the quarter and eight at the half.
Southmont closed to four by the end of the third quarter, but every time it looked like the Mounties were going to take the momentum, the Tigers had the answer.
Lark had seven of his game-high 24 in the fourth quarter and Ferrell had six of his 20 in the final frame.
“They are two of our big senior leaders,” Hendrix said. “We should have seven senior leaders, but they are guys who embrace that role. We did a good job running some things for them late in the game and they hit those shots.”
Wesley Byrd had seven and Bryce Jones six for the Tigers.
Lebanon hit nine 3-pointers, their second most of the year. They have hit 21 3-pointers in their last two games.
“They did a really good job of spreading us out on defense,” Byrum said. “It seemed like when we went and left somebody to help stop the drive, they were able to kick it out and hit somebody to make a 3. I think it’s really going to help us see those rotations, how slow we were and things like that on film. We are a good team and we are going to grow from this.”
Reimondo led the Mounties with 14. Dean McGaughey had nine and Austin Foley eight.
The Mounties head home for a tough two-game stretch with conference leader Tri-West and Class 2A No. 7 Parke Heritage next week.
“I’m very happy with our group,” Byrum said. “This is a really fun group to coach. They’re great kids, they work extremely hard and play together. We have big goals down the road we want to obtain and I truly believe we can achieve those. We will learn from today and get better.”