Congratulations to Mt. Vernon Rams Basketball! The Rams are this week’s WMIX Sports/Josh Finley Country Financial Rams of the Week! The 2022-23 Rams season had many benchmarks, including a South Seven Conference Championship and the program’s 2000th all-time win, but it’s the 47th All-Time Regional Championship that secured the spotlight this week.

The Rams had their work cut out for them in the Mt. Vernon 3A Regional with a semifinal matchup with Marion that was close until the final minutes of the game. Mt. Vernon pulled away to a 53-38 win in a game much closer than the final spread. A slugfest ensued in the Regional Championship and although the Rams led most of the game, it took a gutsy performance down to the wire to beat Herrin 54-51. The Rams had previously lost to Herrin on the road back on Jan. 14. The Regional Championship sent Mt. Vernon to the Centralia 3A Sectional where they fell in the 51-34 semis to a Triad team that seemed nearly flawless on the night.

The Rams finished the campaign with records of 22-9, 9-1.