Mount Vernon hopes it's not May day

By Jeff Johnson The Gazette MOUNT VERNON - They played against a D-I college recruit a couple times this season. Now the Mount Vernon Mustangs have to overcome another one to make it to the state tournament. It's University of Iowa signee Eric May who'll be first and foremost on Mount Vernon minds as his defending champion Dubuque Wahlert Golden Eagles meet the Mustangs in a Class 3A boys' basketball substate final tonight at the U.S. Cellular Center. Tip off is 6:30. You may remember May for his exploits on the football field the past couple seasons, as one of the Mississippi Valley Conference's top quarterbacks. You definitely remember his 40-foot shot at the buzzer last year that gave Wahlert a victory over Harlan in the 3A state championship basketball game. OK, Mount Vernon. Now it's your turn to try and stop the 6-foot-4 forward. "He's obviously as talented physically as anybody we've played," said Mount Vernon Coach Ed Timm, whose team faced Solon and Northern Iowa signee Matt Morrison twice in the regular season. "He's just a great athlete. He's fast, he's strong, he can jump, he's a good shooter ... He's just a very good overall player. I don't know if there's a secret bullet we can (shoot) to stop him. "They score 50 to 60 points a game, and he scores 25. They're not just a one-person team. Everything centers around him, obviously. But they've got other guys who step up." As Timm said, May usually gets his 25 points a game, averaging 24.3, to be exact. He also averages just over nine boards per contest. But Wahlert are 17-6 playing in the Class 4A MVC because it has other players, too. Guys like Jake Burbach (11.2 points per game), Danny Leibfried (8.7) and Kramer Uhlik (6.5 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game) have the ability and last year's title experience to fall back on. Yet Timm feels his Mount Vernon club won't be intimidated. The Mustangs are 16-7, finishing second in their division of the Wamac Conference. "We faced the Western Dubuques, the Dyersville Beckmans, the Solons. There just aren't any weak teams in our league," said Timm, a former head coach at Cornell College. "Every night, you're playing teams who are fast and physical. If you don't play well, you're going to lose." Mount Vernon is led by Kellyn Nagle's 14.1 points per game. Fellow seniors Eric Olson (12.4), Chris Kerr (12.3) and Lucas Mulholland (9.0) are the Mustangs' other primary scorers. The 6-7 Olson could be a key tonight. He lead Mount Vernon in rebounding (9.4) and blocked shots (3.4). The Mustangs also have experience playing in the U.S. Cellular Center. They faced rival Solon there in January. "We're just hoping we can play well tonight," said Timm.