The basketball regular season has come and gone and the top of the National District standings has a familiar look.
They both read “Mount Vernon” after both the Majors’ boy’s and girl’s teams took home regular season crowns. Each enter the postseason with a first-round bye in the National District tournament and sport automatic berths in next week’s Northern Region tournament thanks to their No. 1 seeds.
The Mount Vernon boy’s (17-4 overall) enter tournament play riding a 15-game winning streak after going through regular-season district play with an unblemished 12-0 record. The Majors will face Yorktown in the semifinals Wednesday night, after the Gazette’s press time. Mount Vernon defeated the Patriots, 77-70, just last week to close out the regular season.
The Majors have used superior depth and several multi-versatile players like junior Skylar Jones (19 ppg) and sophomore Jesse Konadu (11.6 ppg) to rebound from a 2-4 start to the season. Should they win Wednesday night, the Majors would move onto the district finals, which are scheduled to take place at 9 p.m. Friday at Mount Vernon.
The Mount Vernon girl’s (20-2 overall) will face Stuart in the district semifinals, a team they defeated by a combined 68 points in their two regular-season meetings. That game will also take place Wednesday night, after the Gazette’s press time.
The Majors will likely face Edison in the district championship, the only team to defeat them during the regular-season district play. Edison and Mount Vernon tied for first place in the standings, but a common opponent tiebreaker gave the first-round bye to the Majors.
Each team defeated the other by eight points in their two regular-season meetings. Expect juniors Tracy King, Jenae Jackson, and Jalinda Venable to play key roles if the Majors are to expand on their lofty regular-season accomplishments.
The National District girl’s championship game is slated to take place at 7 p.m. Friday night at Mount Vernon.