‘Rocks fall to Marauders, teams combine for 26 3s

Westfield’s Josh Van Dyke hit four 3-pointers for the Shamrocks during its Tuesday game with Mount Vernon. (Richie Hall)

Playing at The Rock on Tuesday evening required both Westfield and Mount Vernon to think outside the line – the 3-point line.
Both the Shamrocks and the Marauders reached double-digits in terms of 3-pointers. Westfield was also staying close with Mount Vernon until a long run in the second half helped the Marauders leave The Rock with a 65-59 victory.
Mount Vernon made 15 3s in the game, with the ‘Rocks hitting 11 triples. That includes two 3s from senior Josh Van Dyke in the second quarter, and a big one late in the third that gave Westfield a 40-39 lead. This came after the Shamrocks trailed 30-23 at halftime.
But the Marauders blasted back, making consecutive 3-pointers after Van Dyke’s basket. Mount Vernon then scored at the third-period buzzer to go up 47-40. That 8-0 run became 14-0, as MV hit another pair of 3s early in the fourth to go ahead 53-40.
“No surprises that they can shoot the 3,” said ‘Rocks coach Shane Sumpter. “They shoot more than 20 a game. I think they were 15-of-26 from 3-point range and 2-for-15 inside the paint. We didn’t really do a good job of running them off the line like we wanted to do.”
Westfield continued to fight, with Camden Simons getting a jumper with five minutes left. Then Van Dyke nailed his fourth triple of the game to get the ‘Rocks within 53-45.
The Marauders led 59-47 with 2:49 to go before Westfield made one more run. Zach Banks hit a 3 while being fouled with two minutes left, then made the free throw to complete the rare four-point play. Chris Chin added a layin to cut Mount Vernon’s lead to 59-53, but that would be as close as the Shamrocks would get.
“Every time that we tried to make a run, they came right back with a run,” said Sumpter.
Van Dyke finished the game with 18 points, while Banks scored 13. Caleb Welch added 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
Westfield finished its regular season at 10-12. The Shamrocks will play Carmel next Tuesday (Feb. 27) in the first round of the Noblesville sectional.

Mount Vernon 65, Westfield 59
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Zach Banks 5 1-1 13 3
Caleb Welch 4 0-0 11 2
Josh Van Dyke 5 4-4 18 3
Sam Eaton 1 0-0 2 0
Jack Reinoehl 0 0-0 0 0
Camden Simons 2 0-0 4 1
Garrett Pollard 1 0-0 3 0
Chris Chin 3 1-2 8 2
Eli Patchett 0 0-0 0 1
Totals 21 6-7 59 12
Score by Quarters
Mount Vernon 16 14 17 18 – 65
Westfield 9 14 17 19 – 59
Westfield 3-pointers (11) Van Dyke 4, Welch 3, Banks 2, Chin 1, Pollard 1.

Westfield’s Josh Van Dyke hit four 3-pointers for the Shamrocks during its Tuesday game with Mount Vernon. (Richie Hall)