Overtime win over Bellevue highlights three-game week

     A come-from-behind victory over Bellevue, capped by Kyle Sperfslage’s three-point basket with seven seconds left in overtime, highlighted a 2-1 week for the Monticello High School boys basketball team.

     The Panthers (4-4, 6-5) opened the week with a 66-64 overtime triumph at Bellevue Jan. 2, won 61-31 at Wilton Jan. 5, and then faced North Linn – top-ranked in Class 1A – and lost 89-61 Jan. 6 in Monticello.

     At Bellevue, the host Comets led almost the entire way. They were up by four after the first quarter, and led 28-21 at halftime. Despite a three-point basket by Kyle Sperfslage with two seconds left in the third quarter, Bellevue still led 36-32 after that period.

     Monticello trailed for most of the fourth quarter too, until Sperfslage sank another three-pointer to tie it 52-52 with 1:17 left in regulation time. Bellevue went ahead on a basket with 47 seconds left, but Jacob Manternach drove to the hoop to tie it again, 54-54, with 21 seconds to go.

     The Panthers got one more chance with the ball with 9.9 seconds left, but couldn’t get a shot to fall.

     In overtime, Monticello sprinted to a 58-54 lead on layups by Tyler Luensman and Sperfslage. The Panthers still led 63-61 in the final minute, but a three-point play by Bellevue’s Cade Daughterty with 20.6 seconds left put the Comets ahead 64-63.

     Sperfslage answered with his game-winning three-pointer with about seven seconds left. Bellevue called time-out with 6.3 to go, got off a half-court shot at the buzzer, but it missed.

     Three Panther seniors scored in double figures. Alex Nealson had a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Sperfslage finished with 17 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. Jacob Manternach shot 7-for-11 and had 16 points and eight assists.

     “Our seniors carried us offensively,” Lambert said. “They did a great job. And I thought the young kids gave us good minutes.”

     Monticello took advantage of its chances, shooting 26-for-45 from the field (58 percent).

     “A big problem for us has been turnovers, and in this game, I think we had less than 10. That’s huge,” Lambert said.

     The Panthers traveled to Wilton Jan. 5 to face a struggling opponent, which had won one game this season, and scored a 30-point victory. Monticello jumped to leads of 16-7 after one quarter and 31-14 at halftime.

     Alex Nealson had 20 points in that one, and Justin Recker added 16. Those two, along with Sperfslage, had nine rebounds apiece.

     “It was nice that we got such good production out of our bigs,” Lambert said. “They got the ball inside well, and finished. It’s always good to get a road win in our league, and it was nice to get everyone in the game.”

     The Panthers played host to undefeated North Linn Jan. 6, and were unable to keep pace with the top-ranked Lynx. Monticello led 13-12 in the first quarter, but North Linn went on a 10-0 run to take a 25-16 lead by quarter’s end.

     Monticello still trailed by nine in the second quarter – a dunk by Alex Nealson brought a loud reaction from the Panther crowd – but another Lynx run, 24-10, gave them a 60-37 lead by halftime.

     Foul trouble and injuries played roles in the Panthers’ loss.

     “That was a huge factor,” Lambert said. “We played some combinations we hadn’t played, and that’s hard when you’re playing the number one team in 1A. They’re really good.”

     Despite that, Sperfslage had 24 points in the game, and Alex Nealson had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Recker grabbed eight rebounds. Jacob Manternach had four assists.

     “In all three games, our seniors played with a lot of passion and focus, and that funnels down to the younger guys,” Lambert said.

Jan. 2

Monti   11 10 11 22  12 – 66

Bellv.   15 13   8 18  10 ­– 64

     MONTICELLO (66) – Jacob Manternach 7-11 2-2 16, Justin Recker 1-7 3-4 5, Alex Nealson 10-13 4-5 24, Kyle Sperfslage 7-10 0-0 17, Ryan Manternach 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Luensman 1-3 1-2 3, Luke Lambert 0-0 1-2 1, Devin Kraus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-45 11-15 66.

     BELLEVUE (64) –Trey Daugherty 1-7 0-0 2, Riley Konrardy 0-1 0-0 0, Cade Daugherty 10-24 6-9 28, Trevor Hager 2-9 1-2 5, Nathan Carter 2-4 0-1 4, Paxton Felderman 6-12 2-2 17, Connor Michels 3-3 0-0 7, Drew Mangler 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-60 10-16 64.

     Three-pointers: Sperfslage 3; Felderman 3, C. Daugherty 2, Michels.

     Rebounds: Monticello 37 (Nealson 11, Recker 6), Bellevue 27.

     Total fouls: Monticello 18, Bellevue 15.

Jan. 5

Monti   16 15  22  8 – 61

Wilton   7   7    9   8 – 31

     MONTICELLO (61) – Jacob Manternach 2-5 1-2 6, Justin Recker 7-12 2-6 16, Alex Nealson 8-14 4-5 20, Kyle Sperfslage 1-9 2-2 4, Ryan Manternach 0-2 0-0 0, Avery Martensen 1-3 0-0 2, Luke Lambert 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Luensman 0-2 0-0 0, Gavin Cooper 1-4 0-0 3, Ty Kehoe 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 0-1 0-0 0, Harrison Eastburn 2-2 0-0 4, Will Rieniets 0-1 1-2 1, T.J. Nealson 1-3 1-1 3, Mason Kraus 0-2 0-0 0, Daltyn Kramer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 11-18 61.

     WILTON (31) – Garrett Bohnsack 1-5 0-0 2, Jacob Shepherd 0-2 0-0 0, Chase Miller 1-6 0-0 2, Cole Rabedeaux 3-7 1-2 8, Jared Townsend 2-13 2-4 8, Ashton Stoelk 2-6 0-1 4, Ronen Santiago 1-1 0-0 3, Isaac Hunter 1-2 0-0 3, Charles Martin 0-2 1-2 1, Nathaniel Fagner 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Bosten 0-3 0-0 0, Drake Hayes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-47 4-9 31.

     Three-pointers: J. Manternach, Cooper; Townsend 2, Rabedeaux, Santiago, Hunter.

     Rebounds: Monticello 48 (A. Nealson 9, Sperfslage 9, Recker 9), Wilton 17.

     Total fouls: Wilton 15, Monticello 12.

Jan. 6

N. Linn 25 35 18 11 – 89

Monti   16 21 11 13 – 61

     NORTH LINN (89) – Jake Hilmer 5-10 14-17 24, David Seber 2-6 0-2 6, Ryan Miller 10-17 4-6 28, Trevor Boge 3-3 1-1 7, Adam Waskow 1-2 0-0 2, Brad Pflughaupt 4-6 0-0 12, Carter Johnson 2-4 1-3 5, Sean Boardman 1-2 0-0 3, Austin Miller 0-0 2-2 2, Josh Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 22-31 89.

     MONTICELLO (61) – Jacob Manternach 2-4 0-0 4, Tyler Luensman 1-1 0-0 2, Justin Recker 1-4 1-2 3, Alex Nealson 5-12 4-4 14, Kyle Sperfslage 9-16 4-6 24, Ryan Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Kehoe 2-3 0-0 6, Devin Kraus 1-1 0-0 3, Gavin Cooper 1-1 0-0 2, Luke Lambert 0-1 1-2 1, T.J. Nealson 1-1 0-0 2, Harrison Eastburn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 10-14 61.

     Three-pointers: Miller 4, Pflughaupt 4, Seber 2, Boardman; Sperfslage 2, Kehoe 2, D. Kraus.

     Rebounds: Monticello 32 (A. Nealson 10, Recker 8); North Linn 17.

     Total fouls: Monticello 21, North Linn 15.