As the stars shined bright in the night sky, Stanley A. Changnon Gymnasium hosted the visiting Altamont Indians as they took on the Mt. Vernon Rams. Altamont senior Alek Biggs achieved the milestone of 1,000 career points during the second quarter, but he was outshined by a stellar performance by Amir Spann, ‘20 and the Mt. Vernon Rams, who reigned victorious in the contest.

The Rams improved to 11-5 with a 68-40 win against the Indians. Spann led the way in scoring with 28 points, complemented by Weston Brockhouse, ‘19 with 12 points, Simon Wilson, ‘20 with 11 points, Jackson Creel, ‘20 with nine points, Lukas Cooper, ‘19 with three points, Trey Sharp, ‘19 with three points, and Hunter Simmons, ‘21 with two points.

“This game means more for us than it did them,” coach Doug Creel said before the game. “We’ve lost 4 of our last 5. We need this win more than they do.”

Being a Class 1A school, Altamont went into the game against the Class 3A Mt. Vernon Rams as underdogs, but they were competitive for much of the game. Altamont kept pace with Mt. Vernon until the second quarter, which was coincidentally when Biggs became a thousand-point scorer with a 2-point basket to cut the MV lead down to 15-11.

With the Indians playing for pride, Spann broke out for 13 points in the quarter. While he was the only Ram to make a shot in the quarter, Mt. Vernon went into halftime with a 30-19 lead.

As had been the case in the previous five games, the Rams struggled to make their shots in the first half. However, they came out of the locker room ready to play, with Wilson nailing two 3-pointers and another basket to contribute eight points in the third quarter, in addition to Spann’s continued dominance over the Indians defense with nine points. Six more points from Creel added to the Rams’ scoring efforts to give them a 55-30 lead through three quarters.

The few Altamont fans that were able to find a seat in a packed Changnon Gymnasium had abandoned their places by the time the fourth quarter began. Another three-pointer from Wilson and five more points from Brockhouse proved to be the final nail in the coffin as the starters were replaced with the junior varsity starting lineup. Spann finished 2 points below his season high, but his performance was all the more impressive considering he only played for three quarters against Altamont.

Simmons, Quani Rudd, ‘21, Evan Leake, ‘21, Dylan Harkins, ‘21, and Carson Prost, ‘21 made up the crew on the court. The squad of sophomores gained valuable varsity experience and were eventually themselves replaced by the team of Sharp, Mason Hemby, ‘20, Don’ye Johnson, ‘21, Adam Ackley, ‘20, and Brier Vaneyke, ‘21, with Tramell Hawkins, ‘21 also in the final rotation. With the clock running and the game coming to an end, the crowd was left with one final moment. Sharp hit his first shot of the year with a three-pointer that sent the Khaos Kage into a frenzy. One last feel-good moment capped off a game that the Rams desperately needed to win to get back in the win column.