Two wins, and a milestone; Petersen passes 1,000 career points as Panthers beat Tipton, fight off WB

   A whirlwind of results came out of the first week of boys basketball for the Monticello Panthers.

   Two wins. Tate Petersen reaching the career 1,000 point mark. Petersen totaling 49 points and Preston Ries totaling 45. The Panthers committing just 13 total turnovers.

   Monticello opened with an 80-50 win at Tipton Nov. 29, putting the game away with a 25-11 fourth quarter.

   In the Panthers’ home opener Dec. 2 against West Branch, Monticello escaped with a 65-52 victory. An early 29-6 lead nearly disappeared in the fourth quarter, as the visiting Bears pulled to within five points twice in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers pulled away to win.

Tipton game

   At Tipton, Monticello’s two returning all-state players played like all-state players. Petersen and Ries each scored 27 points, and Ries made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. Petersen made four shots from three-point range, and Ries was 11-for-17 from the field. The two combined to shoot 10-for-11 from the free throw line as well.

   “It was a typical first game,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “I thought we were kind of sloppy on offense, but still scored 80 points, so that’s encouraging. And I thought defensively we weren’t at the level we’re going to need to be at. But it got better as the game went on.”

   The Panthers grabbed leads of 25-16 after one quarter and 38-24 at the half. Tipton rallied to get within 11 points midway through the third quarter, but Monticello took charge after that.

   In a one-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter, the Panthers reeled off 12 straight points to turn a 57-41 lead into 69-41, and the outcome was settled. Peyton Schilling, Carson Lambert and Petersen had three-point baskets in that span, and Ries converted an and-one into a three-point play.

   Schilling finished with eight points and eight assists.

   “I was proud of how hard he played,” Lambert said. “I thought he was really disruptive and active, and had great energy.”

   Ian Temple and Lambert each had five points. Conley Schauf hit a three-pointer, and Nathan Sauser punctuated the win with a three-point basket from the top of the key in the closing seconds.

West Branch

   This game had a lot of storylines. Perhaps the biggest was Petersen scoring 22 points to surpass the 1,000-point mark for his career. He needed 12 points to reach the milestone, and did so with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the first half.

   “I couldn’t do it without my teammates and coaches,” Petersen said following a presentation honoring him after the game. “They always believed in me from the start.”

   Coach Lambert added: “We’re just super proud of him. It’s only the second one in program history (the first was Justin Recker in the 2020-21 season).

   “Tate has just worked incredibly hard to be where he’s at. People have no idea how much time that kid spends in the gym. He’s earned it all. And he’s equally as good off the court. We just feel really blessed to have coached him.”

   The game itself had some wild swings. The Panthers jumped to a 29-6 lead early in the second quarter, but then were outscored 32-24 in the middle two quarters.

   The Bears went on an 8-3 run to start the fourth quarter, pulling to within 51-46 with 5:13 to go.

   “They have some veteran kids, and their kids are winners,” Lambert said. “We knew they wouldn’t just roll over.

   “We need to focus more defensively. We want to play faster offensively this year, but that doesn’t mean our defense can be worse.”

   The lead was five with three minutes to go. Petersen scored on a floater in the lane with 2:38 left, and Carson Lambert followed with a big three-point basket to pull the lead back to 10.

   “Carson played really well in only his second varsity game,” the coach said.

   Petersen then sank four straight free throws in the final 1:30 – the Panthers were 17-for-18 from the line for the game – and Monticello came away with the win.

   “For us it’s good to face some adversity in these early games,” coach Lambert said. “It puts you in positions with decision-making and composure; things you can’t simulate in practice.”

   Petersen finished with 22 points and eight assists, and Ries had another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Schauf had seven points off the bench.

Nov. 29

Monti   25 13 17 25 – 80

Tipton  16   8 15 11 – 50

     MONTICELLO (80) – Peyton Schilling 3-8 0-1 8, Tate Petersen 9-21 5-5 27, Carson Lambert 2-8 0-0 5, Preston Ries 11-17 5-6 27, Ian Temple 2-6 0-0 5, Conley Schauf 1-4 0-0 3, Gage Guilford 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Sauser 1-2 0-0 3, Deacon Besler 1-1 0-0 2, Chesney Capron 0-0 0-0 0, Cord Nietert 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Kurt 0-1 0-0 0, Kellen Graves 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-70 10-12 80.

     Three-pointers – Petersen 4, Schilling 2, Temple, C. Lambert, Schauf, Sauser.

     Rebounds – Tipton 27, Monticello 24 (Ries 12, Schilling 3, Temple 3, Schauf 3).

     Assists – Monticello 15 (Schilling 8, Temple 3), Tipton 8.

     Steals – Monticello 14 (Schilling 6, C. Lambert 2, Ries 2, Temple 2), Tipton 5.

     Blocks – Tipton 3, Monticello 0.

     Fouls – Tipton 12, Monticello 11.

     Turnovers – Tipton 27, Monticello 5.

Dec. 2

WB           6  19  13 14 – 52

Monti     24  14  10 17 – 65

     MONTICELLO (65) – Peyton Schilling 0-1 0-0 0, Tate Petersen 5-13 9-10 22, Carson Lambert 6-13 0-0 15, Preston Ries 5-12 8-8 18, Ian Temple 1-3 0-0 3, Conley Schauf 3-5 0-0 7, Gage Guilford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 17-18 65.

     Three-pointers – Petersen 3, C. Lambert 3, Temple, Schauf.

     Rebounds – Monticello 34 (Ries 15, C. Lambert 8), West Branch 18.

     Assists – Monticello 15 (Petersen 8), West Branch 6.

     Steals – Monticello 2 (Schilling 1, Petersen 1), West Branch 1.

     Blocks – Monticello 2 (Ries 1, C. Lambert 1), West Branch 1.

     Total fouls – Monticello 19, West Branch 16.

     Turnovers – West Branch 9, Monticello 8.