Fourth quarter surge clinches win over Northeast

     What was supposed to be a week of three challenging games in the space of five days turned into a single contest for the Monticello High School boys basketball team, thanks to weather reports that prompted the postponement of Friday and Saturday games.

     The Panthers (7-0, 9-1) made the most of their only game, outscoring Northeast 16-7 in the fourth quarter and inching away to a 48-33 win Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Goose Lake.

     It was close most of the way. Monticello held the lead for most of the first half, but never by more than four points. The Panthers led 23-20 at halftime.

     “They’re good defensively,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said of the Rebels. “They were very physical and took us out of our game in the first half.”

     Two baskets by Justin Recker enabled Monticello to open a 27-20 lead early in the third quarter, and by the end of the period the margin was six, 32-26.

     The Panthers then held Northeast off the scoreboard for the first 6:35 of the fourth quarter while going on a 9-0 run to take a 41-26 lead. In that stretch were four straight free throws, two by Ty Kehoe and two by Tate Petersen.

     “Our defense was really good,” Lambert said. “When the offense struggles, you can always lean on your defense, and that’s what this game was about.”

     The Rebels never got closer than a 12-point margin after that, and lost by 15.

     Monticello didn’t have one of its best shooting performances, 14-for-36 from the field (38.9 percent). But the Panthers did have a balanced scoring attack. Recker and Kehoe finished with 11 points apiece, Petersen had nine, Luke Lambert eight, Connor Lambert six and Devin Kraus three.

     Luke Lambert and Recker had eight rebounds apiece, and Connor Lambert had six. The team had 14 assists, led by Luke Lambert, Recker and Petersen with three apiece.

Cascade game rescheduled

     The home game against Cascade, which was supposed to be Friday, was rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 20.

     The other game called off last week was the Panthers’ trip to Loras College to play in the Wendy’s Classic against Cuba City, Wis. No word yet on whether that will be rescheduled.

Jan. 7

Monti    14   9   9 16 – 48

N’east   12   9   6    7 – 33

     MONTICELLO (48) – Justin Recker 5-10 1-3 11, Luke Lambert 2-4 2-3 8, Connor Lambert 1-4 3-4 6, Ty Kehoe 4-6 2-4 11, Tate Petersen 1-9 6-8 9, Devin Kraus 1-2 0-0 3, Tyler Luensman 0-1 0-0 0, Jeff Carlson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-36 14-22 48.

     NORTHEAST (33) – Dawson Rickords 2-6 0-0 5, Dakota Stevenson 4-8 0-0 9, Grant Rickertsen 1-9 1-2 4, Trey McAleer 2-7 1-2 6, Judd Swanton 0-5 0-0 0, Cade Hughes 2-5 3-4 9, Atzin Dondiego 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Pataska 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-40 5-8 33.

     Three-pointers: L. Lambert 2, C. Lambert, Kehoe, Petersen, Kraus; Hughes 2, Rickords, Stevenson, Rickertsen, McAleer.

     Rebounds: Monticello 27 (Recker 8, L. Lambert 8, C. Lambert 6), Northeast 23.

     Total fouls: Northeast 19, Monticello 12.