Monti bounces back from Anamosa loss with two wins

     With Anamosa back in the same conference with Monticello, the once-heated rivalry between the neighboring schools may be firing up again.

     Anamosa won the first installment for this boys basketball season, outscoring the Panthers 10-2 in the final 3:40 to pull out a 45-41 victory Dec. 11 in Anamosa. With both schools now in the River Valley Conference, they will meet a second time; Jan. 25 in Monticello.

     “It was a good learning experience,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “It’s all part of it. They’ll be fine.”

     The coach’s prediction proved prophetic over the weekend, as Monticello bounced back to overcome Tipton 60-57 Dec. 14, and then topped non-conference foe Midland 58-28 Dec. 15. Both of those games were in Monticello.

     The results left the Panthers 6-1 on the season, including 5-1 in the River Valley Conference.

     At Anamosa Tuesday, the Panthers played from behind for most of the game. The Blue Raiders opened a 20-13 second quarter lead on the way to a 27-21 halftime margin.

     “Our biggest concern was their full court press, and I don’t think that bothered us at all,” Lambert said. “Our turnovers were in the half-court.”

     Monticello edged closer in the third quarter, getting to within three, 35-32, with one period to play.

     The Panthers then went on a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter, taking a 39-35 lead with 3:40 to play. However, Anamosa held Monticello to just two points in the final 3:40 of play.

     Trailing 43-41 with 30 seconds left, the Panthers had two chances with the ball but were unable to score. Two free throws by Anamosa’s Matthew Walton with 0.8 seconds to play sealed the Blue Raiders’ win.

     “I was proud that we battled back, on the road, against a team that was playing nearly all seniors,” the coach said. “We took the lead late; we just have to learn how to finish. We’ve got to have more poise. It’s all part of learning. You can’t teach pressure moments.”

     Justin Recker scored 12 points and Luke Lambert added 11 to pace the Panthers. Recker also had nine rebounds and two blocks. Tyler Luensman had three assists and two steals; Connor Lambert also had three assists.

     The Panthers also found themselves trailing in the Tipton game, as the visiting Tigers opened a 19-8 first quarter lead before securing a 21-13 margin at the buzzer.

     “I thought we were very passive defensively in the first quarter,” coach Lambert said. “Tipton is experienced; they played at a different speed than we did.”

     Things started to turn Monticello’s way after it switched to a zone defense.

     “I thought that really slowed them down offensively,” the coach said.

     Monticello still trailed 33-26 after three quarters, but rallied to outscore Tipton 16-7 in the third period and grab a 42-40 lead.

     The teams played to a 57-57 tie with 29 seconds to play. Tyler Luensman was fouled, and made both free throws with 15.7 seconds left.

     Then, Luke Lambert blocked a Tipton three-point attempt, Recker came up with the ball and was fouled with 2.5 seconds left. He made one of two free throws for a 60-57 lead, and a last-second three-point try for Tipton bounced off the backboard and rim.

     “We played well enough down the stretch to win it,” coach Lambert said.

     Recker finished with 28 points, shooting 9-for-17 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Luke Lambert contributed 13 points and Connor Lambert had 10. Luke Lambert and Recker each had seven rebounds. The team had 18 assists, led by Connor Lambert with five, Luke Lambert and Recker with four apiece, and Luensman with three.

     On Saturday, Monticello jumped to leads of 17-6 after one quarter and 29-10 at halftime on the way to the 30-point win over visiting Midland.

     “We got a good start, and it kept building,” coach Lambert said.

     Luke Lambert had 17 points and Recker had 16 in that game. Devin Kraus scored seven, Mason Kraus had six and Brayden Cleeton had five. Luensman and Luke Lambert had five assists each. Connor Lambert made three steals.

Dec. 11

Monti   4 17 11   9 – 41

Ana       5  22   8 10 – 45

     MONTICELLO (41) – Tyler Luensman 3-5 2-2 8, Justin Recker 4-8 4-5 12, Luke Lambert 3-10 5-6 11, Connor Lambert 1-8 0-0 2, Brayden Cleeton 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 1-2 0-0 3, Jeff Carlson 2-4 1-6 5, Gavin Cooper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-37 12-19 41.

     ANAMOSA (45) – Zac McLean 2-5 1-1 5, Spencer Norton 2-7 1-2 7, Matthew Walton 6-18 202 16, Lazarius Bland 1-3 1-3 3, Sam Wilt 1-6 2-2 4, Dylan Rickles 1-3 0-0 3, Lucas Otting 1-2 0-0 3, Maverick Tjaden 1-3 0-0 2, Brady Lasack 1-2 0-0 2, Walker Marsh 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 7-10 45.

     Three-pointers: Kraus; Norton 2, Walton 2, Rickles, Otting.

     Rebounds: Monticello 30 (Recker 9, Luensman 5, L. Lambert 5); Anamosa 24.

     Total fouls: Anamosa 18, Monticello 13.

Dec. 12

Tipton  21 12   7 17 – 57

Monti   13 13 16 18 – 60

     TIPTON (57) – Trent Pelzer 6-9 3-4 17, Frank Bierman 5-8 0-0 10, Andrew Stewart 6-8 0-0 15, Luke Becker 5-12 0-0 13, Jacob Tischuk 0-4 0-1 0, Colby Kleppe 1-3 0-0 2, Connor Hermiston 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Wilkins 0-0 0-0 0, Payten Elijah 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 3-5 57.

     MONTICELLO (60) – Tyler Luensman 1-4 2-3 5, Justin Recker 9-17 8-10 28, Luke Lambert 4-10 4-6 13, Connor Lambert 2-5 4-4 10, Brayden Cleeton 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 1-3 0-0 2, Jeff Carlson 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 18-40 18-24 60.

     Three-pointers: Stewart 3, Becker 3, Pelzer 2; Recker 2, C. Lambert 2, Luensman, L. Lambert.

     Rebounds: Monticello 21 (Recker 7, L. Lambert 7), Tipton 17.

     Total fouls: Tipton 22, Monticello 13.

Dec. 13

Midland  6   4  10    8 – 28

Monti     17 12 16 13 – 58

     MONTICELLO (58) – Tyler Luensman 2-6 0-1 4, Justin Recker 7-15 2-4 16, Luke Lambert 6-10 4-4 17, Connor Lambert 1-8 0-0 3, Brayden Cleeton 2-2 1-1 5, Devin Kraus 3-4 0-0 7, Jeff Carlson 0-1 0-0 0, Gavin Cooper 0-2 0-0 0, Mason Kraus 3-4 0-0 6, Daltyn Kramer 0-3 0-0 0, Reid Barnhart 0-2 0-0 0, Cade Folken 0-0 0-0 0, Jaison Monk 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Martensen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 7-10 58.

     Three-pointers: Recker, C. Lambert, D. Kraus.

     Rebounds: Monticello 39 (L. Lambert 6, Carlson 6, Recker 5, D. Kraus 5, Cooper 5).

     Total fouls: Monticello 9.