HERRIN - After spotting Herrin a 14-7 lead through one quarter of play, the Mount Vernon Rams put the clamps down defensively on the host Tigers, holding them to only five points over the next 10 minutes of play.

In that time span, the Rams built a double-digit lead and held on for an 11-point win over Herrin, 55-44.

Tyril Trimble led the Rams with 12 points, while Kevon Fortney came off the bench to drop in 11.

"We have a lot of young kids who have never played varsity basketball before, and we were never able to get into the flow of the game offensively Monday against Massac County," said Mount Vernon coach Scott Gamber. "That's why I knew it was up to our defense to get us going offensively. Holding Herrin to only four points in the second quarter was probably the turning point of the game for us."

Tigers coach Irv Lukens agreed with Gamber's assessment.

"We didn't play all that bad defensively, but we stopped scoring and didn't move without the ball," Lukens said. "Mount Vernon made things tougher for us and we didn't respond."

Lukens said he was disappointed with his team's mental approach.

"I just didn't think we played with any fire," he said. "We have to find somebody who can step up with confidence and hit the outside shot."

The vast majority of Herrin's points came inside of five feet. Senior David Mallow paced the attack with 18 points. Sophomore DeMarlo Harris was also in double digits with 12, but senior center Alex Brown, who poured in 20 points in Monday's win over Memphis River City, was held in check with eight points and no slam dunks after recording seven the night before.

Herrin hosts Salem at 7 p.m. today, while Mount Vernon meets up with Memphis at 5:30 p.m.