Panthers win two in RVC, go 2-1 for week

     Monticello’s young Panthers continued to show signs of a strong boys basketball season with a pair of River Valley Conference wins, highlighting a 2-1 week.

     The Panthers (5-3, 6-4) won both RVC home games, 61-42 over Bellevue Jan. 3 and 68-22 over Wilton Jan. 6, before losing at North Linn 60-38 in a non-conference game Jan. 7.

     Against Bellevue on Tuesday, Jacob Manternach had the highest-scoring game of his career, totaling 31 points, including 12-for-19 from the field. Many of his points were collected on layups.

     “We knew the high post would be open, and they had a hard time matching up with him when he’d catch the ball there,” Lambert said. “He finishes, and he’s strong.”

     The Panthers led 13-7 after one quarter, and led by as many as 11 in the second period before taking a 29-19 lead into halftime.

     Monticello erased any doubt about the outcome when Kyle Sperfslage and Jacob Manternach scored two quick baskets to open the second half and make the lead 33-19. In all, the Panthers outscored the Comets 21-6 in the third period.

     Overall, it was a good way for the Panthers to open 2017.

     “They came back like you’d hope,” Lambert said, “energized and hungry.”

     Sperfslage finished with 10 points. Alex Nealson came off the bench to score six points, grab seven rebounds and block two shots. Avery Martensen and Taylor Manternach had four assists apiece, and Martensen had three steals.

     Monticello dominated the boards, outrebounding Bellevue 45-22. The Panthers also were strong on defense, holding the Comets to 29.5 percent shooting from the field (13-for-44).

     “I thought all the kids played harder,” Lambert said. “We emphasized over Christmas (break) that we needed to play at a higher speed, and play better defense, and they did that. And the offense feeds off your defense.”

     On Friday, one play turned things in Monticello’s direction. Alex Nealson stole the ball near mid-court and went in for an emphatic dunk, producing the loudest cheer of the night. The Panthers went on to take a 17-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. By halftime it was 40-11.

     “I thought Alex’s dunk energized the team and got us going,” coach Lambert said. “The whole building erupted, and it changed the tone of the game. It was a great play. He keeps improving every game.”

     Monticello then held Wilton to a single point in the third quarter.

     “We’ve been stressing our defense, and the defense was much better,” the coach said.

     Jacob Manternach again led the Panthers in scoring, with 19. Sperfslage had 12 points, four assists and four steals. Alex Nealson finished with eight points, three steals and two blocks.

     Monticello ran up against a strong North Linn team Saturday night in Troy Mills. The Lynx jumped to a 27-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, but only outscored the Panthers by five points in the final three periods.

     “We knew they would transition well. We needed to play a half court game,” Lambert said. “We didn’t transition very well, and they got layups.

     “Then we settled down. We started double-teaming (Jake) Hilmer, and it slowed the game down. We played right with them the last three quarters.”

     North Linn’s Hilmer had 13 points and 13 assists. David Seber scored 15 for the Lynx.

     For the Panthers, Jacob Manternach had 12 points, Sperflage added nine, and Andrew Tjaden had eight points and six rebounds. Martensen had five points and four rebounds.

     Monticello was off Jan. 10, but is scheduled to play Northeast Jan. 13 at home, and at West Liberty Jan. 14.

Jan. 3

Bel.         7  12   6  17 – 42

Monti    13  16  21 11 – 61

     BELLEVUE (42) – Trey Daugherty 1-6 3-4 6, Peter Kilburg 1-3 2-2 4, Dalton Anderson 2-4 1-2 5, Cade Daugherty 3-11 4-5 10, Trevor Hager 0-1 1-4 1, Connor Michels 4-10 1-3 10, T.J. Koppes 1-2 0-0 3, Nathan Carter 1-3 0-0 2, Drew Mangler 0-0 1-2 1, Colin Olson 0-1 0-0 0, Paxton Felderman 0-3 0-0 0, Riley Konrardy 0-0 0-0 0, Kaleb Bibbons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-44 13-22 42.

     MONTICELLO (61) – Avery Martensen 1-8 2-5 4, Jacob Manternach 12-19 6-12 31, Jordan Breashears 1-5 0-0 2, Andrew Tjaden 2-9 2-3 6, Kyle Sperfslage 2-4 5-6 10, Alex Nealson 2-5 2-2 6, Taylor Manternach 0-1 0-0 0, Devin Kraus 0-1 0-0 0, Josh White 0-1 1-2 1, Wesley Henderson 0-0 1-4 1, Alex Kremer 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Franzenburg 0-2 0-0 0, Kegan Arduser 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 19-34 61.

     Three-pointers: T. Daugherty, Michels, Koppes; J. Manternach, Sperfslage.

     Rebounds: Monticello 45 (A. Nealson 7, Martensen 6, J. Manternach 6), Bellevue 22.

     Total fouls: Bellevue 23, Monticello 21.

Jan. 6

Wilton   6   6    1  10 – 22

Monti   17 23  12 16 – 68

     WILTON (22) – Jacob Shepherd 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Pastian 1-5 0-0 2, Cole Rabedeaux 0-1 0-0 0, Kaleb Timmsen 1-4 0-0 2, Jake Fratzke 1-3 0-0 3, Jared Townsend 1-4 2-3 4, Isaac Hunter 2-2 0-0 4, Ashton Stoelk 1-4 1-2 3, Evan Reifert 0-4 2-4 2, Brady Barrett 1-2 0-0 2, Jake Said 0-1 0-0 0, Chase Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 8-31 5-9 22.

     MONTICELLO (68) – Avery Martensen 2-5 2-2 6, Jacob Manternach 8-14 2-2 19, Taylor Manternach 1-4 0-0 2, Alex Nealson 4-10 0-4 8, Kyle Sperfslage 3-6 3-4 12, Andrew Tjaden 1-2 3-4 5, Jordan Breashears 2-4 0-0 4, Ryan Manternach 2-3 1-1 5, Josh White 1-1 2-4 4, Alex Kremer 0-3 1-2 1, Austin Coohey 1-2 0-0 2, Connor Franzenburg 0-1 0-0 0, Kegan Arduser 0-1 0-0 0, Wesley Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, T.J. Nealson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 14-23 68.

     Three-pointers: Fratzke; Sperfslage 3, J. Manternach.

     Rebounds: Monticello 37 (A. Nealson 7, Tjaden 5, Martensen 4, J. Manternach 4), Wilton 16.

     Total fouls: Wilton 14, Monticello 12.

Jan. 7

Monti     12 10   6 10 – 38

N. Linn  27 12  10 11 – 60

     MONTICELLO (38) – Avery Martensen 2-4 0-0 5, Jacob Manternach 5-7 1-1 12, Taylor Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Nealson 2-6 0-0 4, Kyle Sperfslage 1-6 7-11 9, Andrew Tjaden 2-5 4-4 8, Jordan Breashears 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-30 12-16 38.

     NORTH LINN (60) – Jake Hilmer 4-9 4-5 13, David Seber 5-9 2-3 15, Trevor Boge 5-5 0-0 11, Adam Waskow 5-6 3-6 13, Carter Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Bradley Pflughaupt 2-5 0-0 6, Josh Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-37 9-14 60.

     Three-pointers: Martensen, J. Manternach; Sever 3, Pflughaupt 2, Hilmer, Boge.

     Rebounds: Monticello 17 (Tjaden 6, Martensen 4), North Linn 12.

     Total fouls: Monticello 14, North Linn 13.