Rams trample Lions in season opener

MARION -- The season opener was not a pleasant one Monday night for the Carterville Lions as they were roughed up by the bigger school of Mount Vernon, 57-29, in the first round of the Pyramid Plus basketball tournament at Marion.
Scoring points was no small chore for the boys of west Williamson County as they could only manage one field goal in the first quarter and one in the third quarter. The Rams led at each period break: 8-3, 25-15 and 39-17.
"That's on us," Lions head coach Shane Hawkins said of the scoring drought. "We were not aggressive offensively tonight. I thought we had opportunities to attack off the bounce, but we were very tentative. Some guys wanted to get rid of the ball as soon as they got it."
Senior center Luke Ford was the leading scorer for Carterville with 11 points. No other Carterville player was even close to reaching double figures. 
Mount Vernon, however, collected 11 points each from Zach Williams and Amir Spann. Lukas Cooper added nine points and Jake Martin had eight. 
"I thought their strength got to us in the second half," Hawkins said. "They are a very athletic team. Give them credit. They got up and guarded us and forced several turnovers."
Carterville will meet Collinsville, a 63-27 winner over Herrin Monday, in the 8:30 p.m. game at Marion Tuesday.