Yellow Jackets stung by Westerville South

Taller, quicker Wildcats post 54-33 victory in Div. II district tourney

Basketball team in huddle with coach during timeout.

Mount Vernon boys basketball coach Nick Coon, center, discusses strategy with his team during a timeout in a Div. II district semifinal game Monday at Westerville South.

Fred Main

Fred Main Fred Main Fred Main Knox Weekly News Editor

Published March 3, 2026 - 1:47 p.m. Modified March 3, 2026 - 6:49 p.m.

The dream of making it to a district final came to an end for the Mount Vernon boys basketball team.

Player from Mount Vernon jumps for a layup in a basketball game. — Mount Vernon's Trenton Wells (32) puts up a shot after slicing through two Westerville South defenders during their Div. II boys basketball district semifinal game Monday in Westerville. Wells scored 18 points but it wasn't enough as the Yellow Jackets fell 54-33.

The Yellow Jackets struggled against a taller, quicker and more athletic Westerville South squad Monday, falling to the host Wildcats 54-33 in the Div. II district final.

MV fell behind early, trailing 16-10 after one quarter. The Wildcat lead bumped to nine at intermission (31-22), but any idea the Jackets had of making a comeback ended in the third quarter. WS outscored the Jackets 13-5 in the period and effectively put the game away. The Wildcats took the air out of the ball in the final period to win.

Trenton Wells led the Jackets (11-12) with 18 points. Landon Dawson added two 3-pointers for six points and Justus Shaw had one 3-pointer.

The Jackets had trouble defending the taller, quicker Wildcats, mainly Xavier Jones (19 points) and Hassan Kaba (18 points).

Westerville South will play Big Walnut on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. for a shot at going to regionals.