Panthers heat up; 28-0 run overwhelms Cascade

     Some basketball games start out looking as though they might be close. Often, that is deceiving.

     Never more so than in the Monticello boys basketball home game against Cascade Feb. 5. Midway through the first quarter, the unbeaten Panthers held a slim 7-6 lead.

     Then, they went off.

     A flurry of three-pointers sent Monticello on a 28-0 run, turning that one-point lead into a 35-6 score, before Cascade scored on two free throws with 3:04 left in the first half.

     Monticello went on to win 73-30 on the Panthers’ Senior Night.

     “It was a really nice Senior Night,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “All the seniors scored, we played well, and we got a good win over a rival team. It was a fun night.”

     The three-pointers were among the biggest factors. Monticello made 10 in the first half, most of those during that 28-0 run, and finished 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) from beyond the arc in the game. Connor Lambert and Tate Petersen made four apiece, and finished with 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Luke Lambert had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

     “As a team since Christmas we hadn’t shot as well, but we found it that night,” coach Lambert said. “We got good, open looks, and made them.”

     Monticello dominated in other ways too, holding Cascade to 28.6 percent shooting from the field, outrebounding the Cougars 25-15, and making 25 assists to just seven for Cascade. Justin Recker had nine reobunds and eight assists.

     “It was a nice night to step back and appreciate all this senior class has done, and we hope there’s more to come,” the coach said. “They are good kids, good role models, and the community support they’ve received has been awesome.”

     Earlier, a Panther defense that caused 16 Northeast turnovers, and held the Rebels to 36 percent shooting from the field (9-for-25) was a key factor as Monticello defeated Northeast 40-27 Feb. 2 in Goose Lake.

     “It’s always a tough place to win,” coach Lambert said. “But our defense was just phenomenal.”

     The Panthers took a 21-14 lead into halftime, then outscored Northeast 12-3 in the third quarter to open a 16-point lead.

     Petersen made three baskets from three-point range during the game and finished with 13 points.

     “Tate continues to play at a high level,” the coach said. “He always wants the ball in big moments.”

     Justin Recker had 11 points, five rebounds, and four blocks. Ty Kehoe had seven points and four assists.

     The Panthers are 11-0 in River Valley Conference, North Division games, and 16-0 overall.

Feb. 2

Monti   12   9 12   7 – 40

N’east     6   8   3 10 – 27

     MONTICELLO (40) – Justin Recker 5-7 1-1 11, Luke Lambert 0-2 2-2 2, Connor Lambert 1-7 0-0 3, Ty Kehoe 3-6 1-2 7, Tate Petersen 5-8 0-0 13, Preston Ries 2-2 0-0 4, Riley Manternach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-33 4-5 40.

     NORTHEAST (27) – Hayden Lee 0-2 1-2 1, Carter Pataska 1-2 0-0 2, Cade Hughes 4-9 3-4 12, Robert Schaefer, Jr. 0-1 1-2 1, Judd Swanton 4-9 3-4 11, Jimmy Weispfenning 0-0 0-0 0, Kael Parson 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Gertson 0-1 0-0 0, Caleb Gruhn 0-0 0-0 0, Alijah Dopson 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Moraetes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-25 8-12 27.

     Three-pointers – Petersen 3, C. Lambert; Hughes.

     Rebounds – Northeast 21, Monticello 11 (Recker 5).

     Assists – Monticello 12 (Kehoe 4, L. Lambert 3, Petersen 3), Northeast 3.

     Steals – Monticello 7 (C. Lambert 3, Recker 2), Northeast 4.

     Blocks – Monticello 4 (Recker 4), Northeast 2.

     Fouls – Monticello 12, Northeast 12.

     Turnovers – Northeast 16, Monticello 8.

Feb. 5

Cas           6   8  12   4 – 30

Monti   22 21 17 13 – 73

     CASCADE (30) – Cass Hoffman 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson McAleer 3-6 2-3 8, Eli Green 4-13 2-2 11, Gavin Manternach 1-3 2-2 11, Justin Roling 1-4 2-4 4, Cole McDermott 1-1 2-4 4, Brody Supple 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Simon 0-1 0-0 0, Keagan Lamey 0-0 0-2 0, Isaac Nava 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Otting 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Ruggeberg 0-3 0-0 0. Totals10-35 8-15 30.

     MONTICELLO (73) – Justin Recker 1-4 3-6 5, Luke Lambert 5-8 0-0 12, Connor Lambert 5-5 0-0 14, Ty Kehoe 3-3 2-2 9, Tate Petersen 4-7 0-0 12, Preston Ries 3-4 1-4 8, Riley Manternach 1-3 0-0 2, Grahm Schneiter 1-1 0-0 3, Caleb Sauser 1-2 1-3 3, Jasper Nietert 1-1 0-0 2, Lucas Bartachek 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Kuper 0-0 0-0 0, Eian Weber 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Temple 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Hospodarsky 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Schilling 1-1 0-0 3.

     Three-pointers – Green, G. Manternach; C. Lambert 4, Petersen 4, L. Lambert 2, Kehoe, Ries, Schneiter, Schilling.

     Rebounds – Monticello 25 (Recker 9), Cascade 15.

     Assists – Monticello 25 (Recker 8), Cascade 7.

     Steals – Monticello 11 (C. Lambert 2, Kehoe 2, Ries 2), Cascade 6.

     Blocks – Cascade 1, Monticello 1 (Petersen).

     Fouls – Monticello 14, Cascade 12.

     Turnovers – Cascade 18, Monticello 11.