Pendleton Heights head coach Joe Buck instructs Evan Mozingo in their game against Mt. Vernon.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Pendleton Heights’ Josiah Gustin hauls in a rebound against Mt. Vernon, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Pendleton Heights’ Cooper Sims scores against Mt. Vernon, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Mt. Vernon’s Aden Daugherty and Pendleton Heights’ Evan Mozingo battle for a loose ball during their Hoosier Heritage Conference game Friday.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Pendleton Heights’ Dontrez Braxton pushes the ball upcourt against Mt. Vernon, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Pendleton Heights’ Josiah Gustin and Aaron Cookston battle for a rebound against Mt. Vernon, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Mt. Vernon’s R’Mani Wells puts up a shot at the rim as Josiah Gustin from Pendleton Heights defends.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
Mt. Vernon’s Elijah Parra and Pendleton Heights’ Evan Mozingo battle for a loose ball Friday.
Mike Brown | For the Times-Post
By Brady Extin | The Times-Post
PENDLETON — A chance for Pendleton Heights to open up conference play with a win over a big-time rival fell inches short on Friday.
Junior Evan Mozingo’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer just missed as the Arabians were outlasted at home by Mt. Vernon 44-42 to open up Hoosier Heritage Conference play.
The game, for both teams, was a tale of two halves.
Mt. Vernon was limited to 18 first-half points, while Pendleton Heights was held to 12, and each team scored single-digit points in the opening quarter.
In the second half, the Marauders scored 26, while the Arabians scored 30.
A Brady Fitzgerald 3-pointer and Elijah Parra layup for Mt. Vernon bested three Josiah Gustin points for the Arabians in the opening quarter.
After a pair of Cooper Sims free throws tied things at 5-5 early in the second quarter, Fitzgerald and Parra knocked down treys to push the Mt. Vernon lead to 11-5.
Julien Smith scored the last seven points of the half for Mt. Vernon to keep them ahead 18-12 at the break.
In a 17-point third quarter for Pendleton Heights, there were eight lead changes.
A Gustin layup put the Arabians ahead 21-20 for the first time since 2-0, but each time one team scored, the other answered.
A Parra 3-pointer put the Marauders back ahead for a few moments, before a Seth Laravia basket and free throw flipped the lead back to the Arabians’ side.
Fitzgerald’s third deep ball of the game put Mt. Vernon back ahead for good entering the fourth quarter, and another Parra three made things 34-29 early in the quarter.
On the night, Parra knocked down four 3-pointers, and Fitzgerlad added three. As a team, the Marauders were 8-17 from deep and scored more than half of their points from beyond the 3-point line.
The Mt. Vernon lead got as big as seven late in the fourth after a pair of Aden Daugherty free throws, but the Arabians hung around.
A Gustin 3-point play cut things to 42-39 with just over a minute to play, and an Evan Mozingo 3-pointer off of a Mt. Vernon turnover trimmed the lead to just two with 15 seconds remaining.
Two missed free throws by the Marauders gave the Arabians the chance for the win, but Mozingo’s attempt from deep at the buzzer hit the back of the iron.
The Arabians were led by Gustin with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Parra led Mt. Vernon with 17 points, Fitzgerald added nine, and Smith had seven points and six rebounds. Daugherty added six points and led the Marauders with seven rebounds.
The Arabians bounced back with a 69-40 win over Connersville on Saturday and played Guerin Catholic on Tuesday after press time.
They are back in action Saturday at Liberty Christian with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.