Panthers close regular season with victory

BOYS BASKETBALL RECAP
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Monticello was struggling against Bellevue’s matchup zone defense in the Tuesday, Feb. 7 boys basketball regular season finale at Bellevue.

     So in the middle of the second quarter, the coaching staff told the team to have some fun.

     “We told them, ‘Don’t run an offense,’ ” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “It was basically a pickup game the rest of the game. Pass and cut; that’s all they did. And it was way better. It just opened up the driving lanes.”

     Monticello turned a 31-27 halftime deficit into a 62-54 victory, outscoring the Comets 36-23 in the second half.

     The Panthers also made a defensive switch, going from man-to-man to a 2-3 zone for most of the second half.

     “Bellevue is aggressive in taking the ball in,” Lambert said. “I thought we covered them better in the second half.”

     Three players had a big night: Jacob Manternach scored 20 points, shooting 10-for-17 from the field. Alex Nealson was 8-for-9 from the field and finished with 16 points. And Kyle Sperfslage scored 13 points, including a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line.

     Others contributed as well.

     “I thought we had huge minutes from Josh White and Ryan Manternach,” Lambert said. “Josh is getting better and more confident each game. And Ryan had a solid game; he just knows the game so well.”

     The win gave the Panthers some momentum as they head into the postseason. Monticello was scheduled to play Waukon in the district quarterfinals Monday, Feb. 13; the winner will play Cascade, at Cascade, on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in the semifinals.

     It also gave the team a jolt of confidence.

     “We’d lost so many close games lately,” Lambert said. “And any road game in our conference is hard.”

    

Feb. 7

Monti   14 13 20 16 – 62

Bel.        15 16 13 10 – 54

     MONTICELLO (63) – Avery Martensen 2-3 0-0 4, Jacob Manternach 10-17 0-3 20, Alex Nealson 8-9 0-0 16, Andrew Tjaden 1-1 0-0 2, Kyle Sperfslage 3-9 5-6 13, Josh White 2-6 1-3 5, Ryan Manternach 0-0 2-2 2, Taylor Manternach 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 26-46 9-16 63.

     BELLEVUE (54) – Trey Daugherty 4-7 0-0 10, Paxton Felderman 2-9 0-0 6, Riley Konrardy 0-0 0-0 0, Cade Daugherty 7-18 4-4 18, Trevor Hager 6-9 0-3 12, Connor Michels 2-5 0-0 6, Dalton Anderson 1-3 0-0 2, Peter Kilburg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 4-7 54.

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

     Rebounds: Monticello 25 (J. Manternach 6, A. Nealson 4, R. Manternach 4; Bellevue 17.

     Total fouls: Monticello 12, Bellevue 12.

 

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