ALBANY - Tyler Ritschard had the best first quarter of his life, scoring 18 points of his game-high 26 points, in helping Monticello knock off Six Rivers East foe Albany Monday, 68-40.
"I can't say that I have done that before. That was definitely a first," Ritschard said.
In a make-up game from a Jan. 7 snow-out, the Ponies followed Ritschard's lead in the first quarter, which included four 3-pointers, and held a 23-13 advantage heading into the second quarters.
"Tyler's unique. You tell your guys to get out and to not give him space but he'll penetrate and score off the dribble," Comets head coach Derik Doescher said. "What makes it more impossible is that they (the Ponies) have four, five or six kids that on any given night can go out and score 20 points. I've seen (Tyler) Meier do it, (Corey) McGowan, (Jacob) Marty, (Michael) Elzen and even (Lukas) Kolasch. They are unique."
Meier finished with 16 points and Marty had 10.
Both teams were coming off of high-emotion games from Friday. Monticello edged Barneveld in overtime by a point and the Comets lost to Black Hawk on a buzzer-beating putback.
"I was worried about (a setback) all weekend," Monticello head coach Mark Olson said. "We were on a huge high Friday and the guys were really fired up. And to know that Albany lost a close one, we knew they were going to be hungry to get that feeling out of their stomachs."
Ritschard, who had six 3s and no free throw attempts in the game, hit another shot from downtown off of a dish by Cole Henning midway through the second, giving the Ponies a 35-17 lead. By halftime, Monticello was ahead 42-22.
"We didn't have much time for turnaround after Friday's game at Barneveld. One thing I emphasized Saturday was that we needed to be better shooting," Olson said. "It was a good feeling to shoot well from the perimeter.
Albany went into the locker room with a sense that the game was out of its hands. Playing without senior forward Bryce Hulbert, who missed the game with the flu, the Comets had little defense against the Ponies' drive-and-dish offense.
"We knew it was going to be difficult tonight with or without Bryce. It changed our philosophy on defense. We were going to run a zone with Bryce in the middle so that the penetration wouldn't be there," Doescher said.
Boomer Detra stepped up his game in place of Hulbert, scoring 20 points and finding open looks throughout the game.
"Boomer took some of the offensive load. He had some nice shots in that first half," Doescher said. "I thought Tyler Conley did well offensively and defensively too."
After three quarters, Monticello led 60-33, using an 8-0 run to close out the frame.
"Uncontested, contested - it didn't matter. If they keep shooting the ball like that I don't care who they are going to play, they are going to be a tough out," Doescher said, of Monticello.
Monticello (9-2, 6-0 Six Rivers East), ranked No. 8 in Division 4 in the Associated Press state high school poll, travels to Mineral Point Jan. 23 before going to Black Hawk Jan. 26 for another conference showdown. Albany (3-10, 1-4) is at Argyle Thursday.
"I can't say that I have done that before. That was definitely a first," Ritschard said.
In a make-up game from a Jan. 7 snow-out, the Ponies followed Ritschard's lead in the first quarter, which included four 3-pointers, and held a 23-13 advantage heading into the second quarters.
"Tyler's unique. You tell your guys to get out and to not give him space but he'll penetrate and score off the dribble," Comets head coach Derik Doescher said. "What makes it more impossible is that they (the Ponies) have four, five or six kids that on any given night can go out and score 20 points. I've seen (Tyler) Meier do it, (Corey) McGowan, (Jacob) Marty, (Michael) Elzen and even (Lukas) Kolasch. They are unique."
Meier finished with 16 points and Marty had 10.
Both teams were coming off of high-emotion games from Friday. Monticello edged Barneveld in overtime by a point and the Comets lost to Black Hawk on a buzzer-beating putback.
"I was worried about (a setback) all weekend," Monticello head coach Mark Olson said. "We were on a huge high Friday and the guys were really fired up. And to know that Albany lost a close one, we knew they were going to be hungry to get that feeling out of their stomachs."
Ritschard, who had six 3s and no free throw attempts in the game, hit another shot from downtown off of a dish by Cole Henning midway through the second, giving the Ponies a 35-17 lead. By halftime, Monticello was ahead 42-22.
"We didn't have much time for turnaround after Friday's game at Barneveld. One thing I emphasized Saturday was that we needed to be better shooting," Olson said. "It was a good feeling to shoot well from the perimeter.
Albany went into the locker room with a sense that the game was out of its hands. Playing without senior forward Bryce Hulbert, who missed the game with the flu, the Comets had little defense against the Ponies' drive-and-dish offense.
"We knew it was going to be difficult tonight with or without Bryce. It changed our philosophy on defense. We were going to run a zone with Bryce in the middle so that the penetration wouldn't be there," Doescher said.
Boomer Detra stepped up his game in place of Hulbert, scoring 20 points and finding open looks throughout the game.
"Boomer took some of the offensive load. He had some nice shots in that first half," Doescher said. "I thought Tyler Conley did well offensively and defensively too."
After three quarters, Monticello led 60-33, using an 8-0 run to close out the frame.
"Uncontested, contested - it didn't matter. If they keep shooting the ball like that I don't care who they are going to play, they are going to be a tough out," Doescher said, of Monticello.
Monticello (9-2, 6-0 Six Rivers East), ranked No. 8 in Division 4 in the Associated Press state high school poll, travels to Mineral Point Jan. 23 before going to Black Hawk Jan. 26 for another conference showdown. Albany (3-10, 1-4) is at Argyle Thursday.
