Panthers oust North Cedar, fall to Regina at district tourney

BOYS BASKETBALL
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Monticello had a strong start to the Class 2A, District 8 boys basketball tournament, but ran into a red-hot team in the semifinal round to see its season come to an end.

     The Panthers opened with a 66-57 home victory over North Cedar Feb. 12 in the district quarterfinals, before falling to Iowa City Regina 70-35 Feb. 15 in Cascade.

     Against North Cedar, the Panthers took a 17-13 first quarter lead as Kyle Sperfslage scored 12 of the team’s points. By halftime, it was 32-23.

     “It was nice to get off to a good start,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “Kyle’s first quarter was a big factor in that game.”

     In the third quarter, a pair of Alex Nealson dunks in about a one-minute span helped lift Monticello to a 45-28 lead. The Knights came back to cut the margin to 10 by the end of the quarter.

     “Alex had a big stretch in the third quarter. He energized our team with those dunks,” Lambert said.

     Monticello never led by fewer than seven in the final period, sinking six of nine free throws in the final two minutes to help wrap it up.

     Alex Nealson finished with 21 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the field. Kyle Sperfslage had 17 points, including 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. Justin Recker added 15 points, and Jacob Manternach had 10.

     “We had balanced scoring, which is nice in any game, but especially in a post-season game,” the coach said.

     Nealson completed a double-double with 11 rebounds, while Recker had eight. Jacob Manternach had six assists and five rebounds. Tyler Luensman made five assists.

     In the district semifinals Thursday, Regina took charge almost immediately, surging to a 19-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Regals’ advantage only expanded after that. They led 35-15 at halftime, then outscored the Panthers 19-8 in the third quarter for a 54-23 lead.

     The Regals were 13-for-21 (62 percent) from beyond the arc, including 5-for-5 from Masen Miller, who led all scorers with 22 points. Overall, Regina shot 55.8 percent from the field (24-for-43).

     Monticello shot just 12-for-47 from the field (25.5) percent, and just 9-for-18 from the free throw line.

     “Regina had been playing at a high level,” Lambert said. “Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get beat, and we just got beat by a really good team. They were clicking, and shot really well.”

     Leading scorers for the Panthers were Jacob Manternach with seven points, Alex Nealson and Sperfslage with six apiece, Avery Martensen with five, and Luke Lambert with four. Jacob Manternach had five rebounds and two assists, and Alex Nealson had five rebounds. Sperfslage had a pair of blocks.

     It was the final game for the Panther seniors: Jacob Manternach, Kyle Sperfslage, Ryan Manternach, Alex Nealson and T.J. Nealson.

     “It’s always tough when the season ends,” Lambert said. “You spend so much time together, and this will be that group’s last time being together (on the team).

     “They’re all active in multiple sports, and they are the kind of kids who can go on and be successful in life.”

     The Panthers finished the season 11-12, including 7-10 in the River Valley Conference North Division.

 

Feb. 12

Class 2A, District 8

Quarterfinal

(at Monticello)

N. Cedar  13 10 14 20 – 57

Monti        17 15 15 19 – 66

     NORTH CEDAR (57) – Mason Minar 6-15 2-4 15, Ethan Sahr 8-18 7-13 26, Greg Hansen 0-4 0-4 0, Alex Woodward 0-2 0-0 0, Caden Wendt 1-2 0-0 2, Owen Meyer 4-6 1-1 9, Brady Lehrman 1-1 0-0 3, Logan Thimmes 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 20-49 12-24 57.

     MONTICELLO (66) – Jacob Manternach 4-6 2-4 10, Tyler Luensman 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Recker 4-11 6-7 15, Alex Nealson 9-11 3-7 21, Kyle Sperfslage 5-7 4-6 17, Luke Lambert 1-4 0-0 3, Avery Martensen 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Manternach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-40 15-24 66.

     Three-pointers: Sahr 3, Minar, Lehrman; Sperfslage 3, Recker, L. Lambert.

     Rebounds: Monticello 30 (A. Nealson 11, Recker 8), North Cedar 22.

     Total fouls: North Cedar 20, Monticello 18.

 

Feb. 15

Class 2A, District 8

Semifinal

(at Cascade)

Monti          3 12    8 12 – 35

I.C. Reg.   19 16 19 16 – 70

     MONTICELLO (35) – Jacob Manternach 3-13 0-4 7, Tyler Luensman 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Recker 0-5 3-4 3, Alex Nealson 3-9 0-2 6, Kyle Sperfslage 1-10 4-4 6, Avery Martensen 2-5 0-0 5, Luke Lambert 2-2 0-0 4, Ryan Manternach 1-1 1-2 3, T.J. Nealson 0-1 1-2 1, Gavin Cooper 0-1 0-0 0, Will Rieniets 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Kraus 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Lambert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-47 9-18 35.

     IOWA CITY REGINA (70) – Zach Seaman 1-6 0-0 3, Masen Miller 7-8 3-3 22, Jocoa Kerschen 3-6 0-0 8, Jake Phillips 2-6 1-4 6, Even Brauns 1-3 2-4 4, Ashton Cook 3-3 2-2 9,  Bryce Barnett 3-3 1-2 8, Nick Wagner 2-2 0-0 4, Jacob Sueppel 1-2 0-0 3, Brady Wallace 1-1 0-0 3, Michael Conlon 0-1 0-0 0, Ryne Schooley 0-1 0-0 0, Steve Sehl 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Berns 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-43 9-15 70.

     Three-pointers: J. Manternach, Martensen; Miller 5, Kerschen 2, Seaman, Phillips, Barnett, Sueppel, Wallace, Cook.

     Rebounds: Regina 30, Monticello 21 (J. Manternach 5, A. Nealson 5).

     Total fouls: Regina 15, Monticello 12.

 

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