Monti recovers for victory after Camanche loss

     Two days after being handed a 77-55 defeat at the raucous home of undefeated Camanche, the Monticello High School boys basketball team recovered well enough to score a 63-27 home victory over Bellevue last week.

     “You never know how you’re going to bounce back after a tough loss like the one Tuesday (Jan. 14),” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “But our energy early was good. We were really happy with the whole first half.”

     Monticello jumped to a 25-6 lead by the end of the first quarter in the Bellevue game, played Jan. 16 in Monticello; and led 42-16 at halftime. Holding the Comets to 27 points for the game was a positive as well, Lambert said.

     “If you can hold teams to single digits in a quarter, you’re going to have a good night,” he said.

     The Panthers did that three times, and held Bellevue to just 11 second half points.

     Justin Recker scored 19 points, Tate Petersen added 12 and Connor Lambert scored eight for the Panthers (8-1, 10-2). Riley Manternach came off the bench to score six points, making both of his three-point attempts.

     Luke Lambert and Recker had five rebounds and five assists apiece.

     It was a tough outing on Tuesday in Camanche, however, as the Indians lived up to the hype they had received since before the season started.

     “Did we play our best game? Absolutely not,” Lambert said, “but you’ve got to tip your hat to Camanche. They played unbelievably well.”

     Backed by a large, noisy crowd fitting for the second-ranked team in the state, the Indians jumped to early leads of 12-3 and 18-6. Several three-point baskets and a big dunk by Caleb Delzell played roles in Camanche’s hot start.

     “They got off to that good shooting start, but I thought we weathered that storm,” Lambert said.

     The Panthers got the lead down to six at one point in both the first and second quarters, but each time, the Indians responded. Camanche led 21-10 after one quarter, 33-21 at the half with an attack style offense led by L.J. Henderson, who finished with 25 points while shooting 9-for-10 from the field, most of them driving layups.

     Midway through the third quarter, Justin Recker hit a three-point shot that trimmed a 16-point lead to 13, 43-30. But Camanche went on a 10-0 run after that to take a 23-point lead, and still led by 22 when the quarter ended.

     That margin held up through the fourth quarter, as the Indians took command of the River Valley Conference North Division lead.

     “Long term, it was probably the best thing for us,” Lambert said. “It’s kind of a wakeup call.”

Jan. 14

Monti   10 11 16 18 – 55

Cam.    21 12 26 18 – 77

     MONTICELLO (55) – Justin Recker 9-12 1-3 22, Luke Lambert 0-4 2-2 2, Connor Lambert 3-12 0-2 8, Ty Kehoe 5-10 3-7 15, Tate Petersen 0-1 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 1-4 0-0 3, Jeff Carlson 0-0 2-2 2, Riley Manternach 0-2 2-2 2, Tyler Luensman 0-0 1-2 1, Brayden Cleeton 0-0 0-0 0, Cade Folken 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Martensen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 11-21 55.

     CAMANCHE (77) – L.J. Henderson 9-10 4-5 25, Caleb Delzell 6-10 0-0 14, Zach Erwin 6-6 5-5 18, Cameron Soenksen 4-12 0-0 10, Jordan Lawrence 2-7 0-0 5, Nolan Baker 1-1 0-0 3, Zayne Feller 1-1 0-1 2, Ethan Buckely 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Shaw 0-0 0-2 0, Kyle DeWeerdt 0-0 0-0 0, Kylan Darisidan 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Draper 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Delzell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-48 9-13 77.

     Three-pointers: Recker 3, C. Lambert 2, Kehoe 2, Kraus; Henderson 3, C. Delzell 2, Soenksen 2, Erwin, Lawrence, Baker.

     Rebounds: Camanche 39, Monticello 21 (Recker 7, L. Lambert 7).

     Total fouls: Camanche 15, Monticello 13.

Jan. 16

Bell.        6 10   6   5 – 27

Monti    25 17  15  6 – 63

     BELLEVUE (27) – Cole Heim 1-3 0-0 2, Isaac Carter 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson Wagner 1-3 2-2 4, Paxton Felderman 2-6 3-4 8, Colby Sieverding 3-6 0-0 7, Nick Deppe 1-1 0-0 2, Jackson Mueller 0-0 1-2 1, Ethan Klemme 0-0 1-2 1, Andrew Swartz 0-4 0-0 0, Max Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Bruggenworth 0-0 0-0 0, Liam Dunne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-26 7-10 27.

     MONTICELLO (63) – Justin Recker 9-14 1-3 19, Luke Lambert 1-6 0-0 3, Connor Lambert 2-2 4-4 8, Ty Kehoe 0-5 0-0 0, Tate Petersen 4-6 0-0 12, Devin Kraus 2-4 2-2 6, Riley Manternach 2-2 0-0 6, Jeff Carlson 1-2 1-2 3, Tyler Luensman 1-2 0-0 2, Brayden Cleeton 1-5 0-0 2, Grahm Schneiter 0-0 2-2 2, Cade Folken 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Martensen 0-1 0-0 0, Jasper Nietert 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler McAtee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 10-13 63.

     Three-pointers: Felderman, Sieverding; Petersen 4, Manternach 2, L. Lambert.

     Rebounds: Monticello 28 (Recker 5, L. Lambert 5, Cleeton 4), Bellevue 13.

     Total fouls: Bellevue 15, Monticello 14.