NEW ROCHELLE - So much about Mount Vernon and New Rochelle was similar. Athletic players, swarming defense, talent up and down the roster allowing both coaches to comfortably go to the bench.

But only Mount Vernon had a 6-foot-8 superstar.

As feisty as New Rochelle was, showing that the margin between Mount Vernon and the rest of the area isn't totally overwhelming, it had no answers for West Virginia-bound Kevin Jones.

He was tremendous, recording a game-high 23 points and 20 rebounds to lead Mount Vernon to a 62-57 boys basketball win over New Rochelle, in a game that had a 30-minute delay in the fourth quarter because of a fire alarm.

"He's supposed to do that. I want him to constantly be the man," Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said.

"We have no one his size that's playing right now," New Rochelle's Markell Rice said. "We did what what we could do by boxing out, but he's a great player."

New Rochelle (7-2) stayed close throughout, holding a one-point lead after the first, ending a quarter that saw six lead changes. New Rochelle trailed 27-26 at halftime after Antoine Mason, who led the Huguenots with 13 points, dunked at the buzzer.

Mount Vernon (6-2) closed the third quarter on a 12-6 run to go up 47-40. The Knights held a somewhat comfortable 50-41 lead with 5:47 left when New Rochelle coach Bill Murphy called timeout after a transition layup by Mount Vernon's Sherrod Wright.

Before play resumed, fire alarms went off in the gym, and all spectators evacuated the school as the public-address announcer assured everyone that it was not an emergency. The New Rochelle fire department was on the scene quickly.

According to New Rochelle Fire Department deputy chief Douglas Kelly, a pull station was pulled in the school auditorium, where upon a signal is automatically sent to the fire department.

On arrival, the department determined that a steam pipe had burst, setting off smoke detectors, and they fixed the pipe.

Kelly was not sure whether the pull station was pulled because of the steam pipe, or whether it was a prank.

Regardless, after a delay of around 30 minutes, the teams and fans returned to the packed gym, and Mount Vernon secured the victory.

Mount Vernon had difficulty putting New Rochelle away. After New Rochelle closed to 58-53 with 1:38 left, Mount Vernon missed its next five free throws, but the Huguenots couldn't get any closer, failing to score on three straight possessions with a five-point deficit.

Wright, who had 22 points, hit two free throws to put Mount Vernon up 60-53 with 32 seconds left, effectively ending the game.

"I don't think we executed as well as we should have at points, especially when we had a lead. I'd like us to improve on that," Cimmino said. "But I'm happy with a win. Any time you come to New Rochelle and win, you're pleased."

He was especially pleased with Jones, who showed his vast repertoire at various points in the game. He was tenacious on the glass, at one point following three of his own misses with rebounds before a putback gave the Knights a 25-20 lead in the second quarter.

He showed some nice outside touch in the third quarter, hitting two 3-pointers, and was impressive on defense, blocking three shots and altering countless others.

"We really had a nice size advantage on them, and Coach wanted us to go after them," Jones said. "It was a hard-fought game. They didn't back down."