Mount Pleasant was an undefeated underdog heading into Monday night’s matchup with Carman-Ainsworth at the Louis O’Neal MLK Classic. They left with a 66-58 win.
The top two teams in the SVL faced off tonight and Mount Pleasant came out on top over Carman-Ainsworth 66-58. @BFroling and @eric_vandefifer break down the matchup. pic.twitter.com/ObJPSqPefL
— ESPN 100.9-FM (@ESPN1009) January 21, 2020
Despite coming in with an 8-0 record, the Oilers had an MPR (Michigan Power Ranking) that was No. 41 in Division 1. Their strength of schedule left something to be desired, but that didn’t matter against Carman-Ainsworth.
The Cavaliers controlled the tempo early, pushing to a 20-13 lead after the first quarter. Each time it seemed like Carman-Ainsworth’s speed would be too much for Mount Pleasant, the Oilers would ramp up the defensive pressure and force a turnover for a layup. Carman-Ainsworth went into halftime up 35-30.
Mount Pleasant started inching closer and closer to Carman-Ainsworth thanks to the hot shooting of Joe Ostrowsky. He hit two threes near the end of the third quarter to swing all of the momentum back to the Oilers.
Smooth step back by Joe Ostrowsky (@jo_ostrowsky1) to trim the Carman-Ainsworth was to 2 headed to the final quarter. 48-46 the score #LocalSportsLeader pic.twitter.com/E3Qs3Sc0PR
— ESPN 100.9-FM (@ESPN1009) January 21, 2020
The sweet shooting continued in the fourth quarter as Mount Pleasant raced out to an 11-4 run to take the lead. Ostrowsky scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the final frame and free throws helped Mount Pleasant pull away for the win.
Mount Pleasant final stats
Joe Ostrowsky: 25 points
Mason Wojtusik: 11 points
Jack Payton: 10 points
Tyrone Rios: 10 points
Tyler Huenemann: 5 points
Carman-Ainsworth final stats
Jayden Nunn: 12 points
Mekhi Ellison: 12 points
Darrell Scroggins: 10 points
Jason Green: 8 points
Rasheed Brown: 8 points
Isaiah Jones: 8 points
