Panthers gain leads, but fall in RVC games

     Two strong starts could have led to a big week for the Monticello High School boys basketball team, but both opponents rallied to hand the Panthers River Valley Conference defeats instead.

     Monticello (6-10, 8-11) led second-ranked Cascade 19-5 early in a Jan. 30 home game, but fell 56-44. On Feb. 2, the Panthers’ 31-25 halftime lead at Tipton ended in a two-point loss, 59-57.

     In both cases, the opponents ramped up the defensive pressure and turned things around.

     “It’s been a theme,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “It’s more composure than execution. We need to run our press break, trust it, and trust each other.”

     Cascade came into the Tuesday game with a record of 18-0, against Monticello’s 8-9, and the Cougars had beaten Monticello 57-34 in the previous meeting, Dec. 15 in Cascade.

     But if the Cougars came into the Panther gym thinking they were going to have an easy time of it, those thoughts were abandoned after Monticello took a 12-5 first quarter lead.

     A three-point play by Alex Nealson with 14 seconds left in the period made it 15-5. The Panthers extended it to 19-5 early in the second quarter when Kyle Sperfslage drove the baseline for a layup, and Justin Recker scored off a pass from Nealson.

     “We attacked their zone, and knew where to attack it,” Monticello coach Tim Lambert said. “Defensively, we extended and trapped them in the half court. The kids executed real well.”

     Cascade battled back to within two points, but a buzzer-beating three-point basket by Connor Lambert lifted the Panthers to a 25-20 lead at halftime.

     The Cougars took a 32-30 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter, but Sperfslage scored six points – four of them on free throws – to lift the Panthers back to a 36-34 lead with one quarter to play.

     Monticello still led 40-37 with 5:25 to play after Jacob Manternach scored on a feed from Tyler Luensman.

     That was when the second-ranked Cougars took over. They made four consecutive free throws, and Brock Simon scored on a dunk to put Cascade ahead 45-40.

     It was the beginning of a 17-0 run that quickly put the game out of Monticello’s control, down 54-40 with 1:42 to play. The Panthers could get no closer than a 12-point spread after that.

     “They extended their pressure, and we didn’t handle it,” Lambert said. “They got some easy baskets.”

     Sperfslage finished with 15 points, including 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Nealson and Recker each had nine points, and Recker had nine rebounds, while Nealson grabbed eight. Jacob Manternach had three assists.

     On Friday at Tipton, Monticello had a six-point lead at halftime, fell behind by three after the third quarter, and then battled to a close finish. Two free throws by Logan Hoffman of Tipton with 1.2 seconds to play made the difference.

     “It was a disappointing way to end a good game,” coach Lambert said. “Both teams played really hard. We led for most of the game; we just didn’t close.”

     Hoffman led all scorers were 25 points for the Tigers.

     “Tipton has a nice team,” Lambert said.

     Three Panthers scored in double figures: Nealson with 20, Sperfslage with 16 and Recker with 10. Nealson also had nine rebounds. Jacob Manternach had six points, five rebounds and five assists. Recker blocked two shots.

     The Panthers were scheduled to close the regular season with home games against Bellevue Feb. 6 and West Liberty Feb. 8.

District pairings

     Pairings for post-season play have been announced. Monticello will host a Class 2A, District 8 quarterfinal doubleheader Monday, Feb. 12. West Branch will play Bellevue at 6:30 p.m., followed by Monticello against North Cedar at 8 p.m.

     The Monticello-North Cedar winner will play Iowa City Regina in a district semifinal Feb. 15 at Cascade. The district final will be Feb. 20 at Maquoketa.

Jan. 30

Cascade    5 15 14 22 – 56

Monti      15  10 11   8 – 44

     CASCADE (56) – Brock Simon 4-7 3-6 11, Derek Koppes 3-10 1-3 8, Johnny Supple 5-8 3-4 13, Gannon O’Brien 3-6 0-1 7, Haris Hoffman 3-5 2-2 9, Reid Rausch 1-3 4-4 7, Tom Knepper 0-2 1-2 1, Logan Otting 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 14-22 56.

     MONTICELLO (44) – Jacob Manternach 1-2 1-2 3, Tyler Luensman 1-3 0-1 3, Justin Recker 4-5 0-0 9, Alex Nealson 4-8 1-3 9, Kyle Sperfslage 2-9 11-12 15, Avery Martensen 1-3 0-1 2, Connor Lambert 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 14-31 13-19 44.

     Three-pointers: Koppes, O’Brien, Hoffman, Rausch; Recker, Luensman, C. Lambert.

     Rebounds: Cascade 25, Monticello 25 (Recker 9, Nealson 8).

     Total fouls: Cascade 20, Monticello 19.

Feb. 2

Monti    15 16   9 17 – 57

Tipton   17   8 18 16 – 59

     MONTICELLO (57) – Jacob Manternach 2-3 2-5 6, Tyler Luensman 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Recker 3-7 2-2 10, Alex Nealson 9-16 2-2 20, Kyle Sperfslage 6-12 4-5 16, Connor Lambert 1-3 0-0 3, Avery Martensen 1-1 0-0 2, Ty Kehoe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-43 10-14 57.

     TIPTON (59) – Frank Bierman 3-6 1-4 7, Logan Hoffman 10-14 2-2 25, Andrew Stewart 6-12 0-0 16, Luke Becker 2-7 0-0 6, Jacob Tischuk 0-2 1-2 1, Trent Pelzer 2-3 0-0 4, Blaise Thumma 0-1 0-0 0, Blake Wilkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 4-8 59.

     Three-pointers: Recker 2, C. Lambert; Stewart 4, Hoffman 3, Becker 2.

     Rebounds: Monticello 23 (Nealson 9, J. Manternach 5, Recker 5), Tipton 18.

     Total fouls: Tipton 16, Monticello 10.