Camanche, Mid-Prairie deal losses to Panthers

     Competition is tough in River Valley Conference boys basketball, and the Monticello Panthers faced, and lost to, a pair of RVC foes last week.

     Monticello (4-7, 6-8) lost at home to Camanche by a score of 63-52 Jan. 16, and then traveled to Wellman to face Mid-Prairie, falling 50-44.

     In the Camanche game, the visiting Indians used an effective full-court press and a fast-paced style to build a 29-21 lead by halftime.

     The Panthers came back, going on a 15-5 run to start the third quarter, and taking a 36-34 lead. The teams traded leads until the end of the quarter, when Camanche led 41-40.

     “In the first half, we had a lot of turnovers,” Lambert said. “That’s been our weakness all year. In the third quarter we handed their press better.”

     The Indians then had an 8-1 run of their own in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 49-41 lead. Monticello’s Avery Martensen then got an offensive rebound, scored, was fouled, and made the free throw to cut the margin to five, but that was as close as the Panthers came the rest of the way. Camanche opened a 13-point lead in the final two minutes, and went on to win by 11.

     Monticello had a balanced scoring attack, with three seniors scoring in double figures: Jacob Manternach and Alex Nealson with 13 points apiece, and Kyle Sperfslage with 12. Nealson completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, and had three blocks, three assists and three steals. Martensen had six points and eight rebounds.

     The loss at Mid-Prairie on Friday was a disappointment on a few levels, not least because the Golden Hawks came into the game with a record of 2-12.

     “They had struggled, but they play hard,” Lambert said. “We told our guys that the number one thing was to match their speed and intensity, and we didn’t.

     “I could come up with a million excuses why we lost, but the truth is, we just got outplayed. In our league, it’s never easy, especially on the road. This game is a good reminder of that.”

     Despite that, there were some bright spots. Freshman Justin Recker shot 7-for-12 from the field and scored 17 points, and had seven rebounds. Jacob Manternach had 14 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field. Alex Nealson had seven points, five assists and two blocks. Sperfslage and Martensen had five rebounds each.

Jan. 16

Cam.    12 17 12 22 – 63

Monti     8 13 19 12 – 52

     CAMANCHE (63) – Carson Seeser 3-5 2-2 10, Caleb Delzell 2-6 1-2 7, Dev Patel 3-8 6-11 12, Cameron Soenksen 3-11 4-7 11, Calvin Ottens 1-2 2-2 4, Jordan Lawrence 6-13 2-2 14, Jaxon White 1-2 0-0 3, Evan Hall 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-48 17-26 63.

     MONTICELLO (52) – Jacob Manternach 6-13 1-3 13, Avery Martensen 2-7 1-1 6, Justin Recker 2-9 1-2 6, Alex Nealson 5-11 3-4 13, Kyle Sperfslage 4-11 2-2 12, Ryan Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Lambert 1-4 0-0 2, Tyler Luensman 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Cooper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 8-12 52.

     Three-pointers: Seeser 2, Delzell 2, Soenksen, White; Sperfslage 2, Martensen, Recker.

     Rebounds: Monticello 35 (A. Nealson 10, Martensen 8), Camanche 29.

     Total fouls: Monticello 19, Camanche 16.

Jan. 19

Monti   13  5  14  12  – 44

M-P      11 17  11  11  – 50

     MONTICELLO (44) – Jacob Manternach 6-8 2-4 14, Avery Martensen 0-3 0-0 0, Justin Recker 7-12 3-4 17, Alex Nealson 3-7 1-2 7, Kyle Sperfslage 2-14 0-3 6, Ryan Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Luensman 0-2 0-0 0, Connor Lambert 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 6-13 44.

     MID-PRAIRIE (50) – Brad Tornow 1-5 2-2 5, Grant Boyse 5-8 1-6 3, Cale Robertson 2-10 5-6 9, Tom Butters 2-9 0-0 4, Chaz Patterson 2-5 1-4 5, Dominic Pickard 3-6 2-2 8, Cary Schaefer 0-2 0-0 0, Josh Slaubaugh 0-2 0-0 0, Kyle Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-51 13-22 50.

     Three-pointers: Sperfslage 2; Slaubaugh 4, Tornow.

     Rebounds: Mid-Prairie 40, Monticello 26.

     Total fouls: Monticello 17, Mid-Prairie 10.