Three quick games open Monti's season

     Monticello bounced back from a tough River Valley Conference loss to win a pair of games on back-to-back days last week.

     In all, the Panthers (2-1) opened their season with three games in the space of five days.

     Included were a 56-53 home loss to Northeast of Goose Lake Nov. 28, a 68-58 comeback win over West Branch Dec. 1, also in Monticello; and a 49-24 win at Midland Dec. 2.

     Against Northeast, a physical battle that put Monticello in an early 12-2 hole, and the Rebels still led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.

     “They’re long, athletic, and aggressive defensively,” Lambert said. “They were in a 1-3-1 trap, and we were passive on offense. We had way too many turnovers early that led directly to baskets.”

     At halftime, the Panthers trailed 31-27, and had two players in foul trouble: Jacob Manternach with four fouls, and Kyle Sperfslage with three.

     “We got good minutes from some kids who kept us in it when we were in foul trouble,” Lambert said.

     Monticello was able to battle back, and took a 34-31 lead midway through the third quarter. At the end of the period, it was tied 40-40.

     The game was knotted again, 48-48, after Justin Recker scored with 3:31 to play. Northeast scored the next two baskets, however, and the Panthers were unable to get closer than two points behind the rest of the way. Monticello had the ball in its own end, down by three, with 1.5 seconds to go, but couldn’t connect on a long in-bounds pass.

     Senior Alex Nealson had a big night, a double-double with 12 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Justin Recker had 10 points and five rebounds.

     “I thought Alex dominated our defensive board in the second half. And I was impressed with Justin’s composure and maturity,” Lambert said.

     “We had a couple big shots. We didn’t get them to fall, but we will. I was proud of how hard they played,” he added.

     Monticello rallied to win over West Branch Dec. 1, outscoring the Bears 27-12 in the fourth quarter to erase a five-point deficit and win by 10. It was a big night for Recker, who shot 8-for-9 from the field and finished with 22 points.

     Kyle Sperfslage scored 15, and sparked the fourth quarter rally by hitting a two-point shot and a three-point shot to tie the game. Jacob Manternach scored 13.

     Monticello led 17-9 after one quarter, but by halftime the game was tied 29-29.

     “We executed very well early, got good shots and finished,” Lambert said. “Then we let up defensively in the second quarter, and that’s what got them back in the game. We have to be more consistent defensively.”

     In the fourth quarter, the coach said, “We tightened up defensively, and got some transition baskets, which was huge.”

     Nealson had nine points and 10 rebounds. Jacob Manternach had five assists, and Sperfslage had three steals and three assists. Recker had two blocks.

     Saturday’s game at Midland was close after one quarter, with the Panthers leading 21-15, but Monticello held the Eagles to just nine points over the final three quarters to pull away.

     “I thought our team looked tired. We just didn’t have much energy,” Lambert said.

     Nealson had 12 points and eight rebounds. Jacob Manternach scored 10 points and made four assists. Sperfslage had eight points, and Avery Martensen had eight rebounds.

Nov. 28

Northeast    17 14   9  16 ­– 56

Monti            8  19  13 13 – 46

     NORTHEAST (56) – Braeden 6-9 1-9 13, Collin Swanton 3-7 2-4 8, Trey McAleer 0-3 0-0 0, Dawson Stoll 5-11 2-4 13, Luke Empen 6-11 1-1 13, Dakota Stevenson 1-2 2-2 5, Dawson Rickords 1-2 2-4 4, Connor Petersen 0-1 0-0 0, Matt French 0-1 0-0 0, Grant Rickertsen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 10-24 56.

     MONTICELLO (53) – Jacob Manternach 0-3 3-5 3, Avery Martensen 3-3 0-0 6, Justin Recker 4-8 0-0 10, Alex Nealson 4-9 4-11 12, Kyle Sperfslage 1-16 6-8 9, Avery Martensen 3-3 0-0 6, Ryan Manternach 2-4 2-4 6, Gavin Cooper 2-5 1-2 7, Ty Kehoe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-48 16-30 53.

     Three-pointers: Stoll, Stevenson; Recker 2, Cooper 2, Sperfslage.

     Rebounds: Northeast 35, Monticello 33 (Nealson 16, Manternach 6, Recker 5).

Dec. 1

W. Branch   9 20 17 12 – 58

Monti          17 12 12 27 – 68

     WEST BRANCH (58) – Cade Aspelmeier 1-1 1-2 3, Beau Cornwell 15-28 2-3 37, Ben Thompson 2-8 7-8 11, Tanner Lukavsky 2-3 0-0 4, Brett Schiele 1-5 0-1 3, Brady Lukavsky 0-4 0-0 0, Ted Bridges 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Dragovich 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 10-14 58.

     MONTICELLO (68) – Jacob Manternach 5-9 2-2 13, Avery Martensen 3-5 0-0 7, Justin Recker 8-9 5-9 22, Alex Nealson 3-12 3-4 9, Kyle Sperfslage 4-8 5-10 15, Ryan Manternach 0-2 2-2 2, Gavin Cooper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 17-27 68.

     Three-pointers: Cornwell 5, Schiele; Sperfslage 2, J. Manternach, Recker, Martensen.

     Rebounds: Monticello 34 (Nealson 10, Recker 8), West Branch 24.

     Total fouls: West Branch 21, Monticello 14.

Dec. 2

Monti        21 15   9   4 – 49

Midland   15   4    3   2 – 24

     MONTICELLO (49) – Jacob Manternach 4-8 2-5 10, Avery Martensen 1-5 0-0 2, Justin Recker 1-6 3-5 5, Alex Nealson 5-11 2-4 12, Kyle Sperfslage 1-6 6-6 8, Gavin Cooper 1-3 2-3 4, Ryan Manternach 3-5 0-0 6, Harrison Eastburn 1-1 0-0 2, Ty Kehoe 0-2 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 0-1 0-0 0, Mason Kraus 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Luensman 0-0 0-0 0, T.J. Nealson 0-2 0-0 0, Daltyn Kramer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 15-23 49.

     Rebounds: Monticello 45 (Nealson 8, Martensen 8, Recker 6, R. Manternach 6).