HERRIN - Marion and Herrin each picked up victories Friday at the Pyramid Plus Tournament, and the Williamson County rivals will meet this evening in the championship game.

Aaron Adeoye led Marion with 14 points in a 47-39 victory over Mount Vernon. DeMarlo Harris scored 18 points in Herrin's 63-50 win over Massac County.

Mount Vernon's Kevon Fortney hit a jump shot, and Dorvontous Gordon nailed two free throws to tie Marion at 31-all with five minutes left in the game.

But Troy Stucky hit a 3-pointer that started a 7-0 run for Marion, and the Wildcats held off the Rams late in the contest.

"Troy gave us a big lift off the bench (Friday)," said Marion coach Aaron Mattox. "I'm very proud of our guys' effort down the stretch." Ian Randolph sank a jump shot near the foul line to give Mount Vernon a 20-18 lead early in the third quarter. Marion's Bryan Waldrop scored the next five points and sparked a 9-0 Marion streak.

Isaiah Powe and Adeoye each scored baskets in the paint as the Wildcats to a seven-point lead, 27-20. But the Wildcats couldn't pull away from the Rams. Mount Vernon kept it a close game until the final seconds.

"I know what we're going to get when we play Mount Vernon, they're going to battle," Mattox said. "They play hard and are one of the best defensive teams year in and year out in Southern Illinois."

Gordon paced the Rams (2-2) with 11 points, and Powe added 10 for Marion (4-0).

In the final game of the evening, Herrin recovered from a slow start and defeated Massac with a dominant performance in the paint.

Harris scored most of his 18 points down low, and center Alex Brown chipped in with 17.

Jarelle Johnson buried a triple to give the Patriots an 18-14 edge in the second quarter, but Harris followed with a pair of baskets, and Jo Jo Hart made a 3-pointer as Herrin claimed its first lead, 21-18.

"I thought in the first quarter we were doing some things right but the ball just wasn't bouncing our way," said Herrin coach Irv Lukens. "They are a very good team, but we finally got to our strengths and they don't have an answer."

The Tigers (3-1) took a nine-point advantage into halftime and continued to play well in the second half.

Hart knocked down another 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to push the Herrin lead to 50-39. Moments later, Hart took off in transition, passed the ball off the backboard, and Brown threw down a thunderous dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.

Herrin led by as many as 17 points points in the contest. The Patriots (2-2) defeated the Tigers all four times they played last season.

"They do a great job of going high-low from (David) Mallow to Brown," said Massac County coach Joe Hosman. "That's very tough for us to stop, but hopefully we're not going to show all of our cards in this game."

Johnson led Massac County with 15 points, and Malcolm Amos had 10. Herrin takes on Marion for the championship today at 8:30 p.m. Massac County takes on Memphis River City at 5:30 p.m., and Salem battles Mount Vernon at 7 p.m.

Marion (47)

Stucky 2 3-4 8, Ellis 2, Adeaye 6 2-3 15, Waldrop 4 2-3 11, Powe 4 2-4 10, McIndezis 1, Sullivan 0, Totals 18 9-17 47.

Mount Vernon (39)

Randolph 3 1-1 7, Edwards 7, Fortney 1 4-4 6, Trimble, Ty 5, Tucker 3, Gordon 4 3-6 11, Totals 12 13-16 39.

Marion 9 7 11 20 - 47

Mount Vernon 4 14 5 16 - 39

3-Pointers-Marion 2 (Stucky 1, Waldrop 1), Mount Vernon 2 (Edwards 1, Tucker 1).

Herrin (63)

Hart 2 2-2 8, Caldwell 5, Jones 1 1-1 3, Harris 9 0-1 18, Brown, A 8 1-5 17, Mallow 5 2-2 12, Brown, V 0, Totals 25 11-21 63.

Massac County (50)

Famer 3 1-2 7, Ayala 2 2-6 6, Lang 1 2-2 4, Glass 3, Sommer 1 1-2 3, McManus 2, Johnson 15, Amos 10, Totals 19 6-12 50.

Herrin 8 25 10 20 - 63

Massac County 14 10 13 13 - 50

3-Pointers-Herrin 2 (Hart 2), Massac County 6 (Glass 1, Johnson 3, Amos 2). Game Notes-

scott.mees@thesouthern.com

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