MONTICELLO - Monticello's boys basketball team used two big runs Tuesday to put away the Comets, 59-48.
"They made a few more shots than we did and they were the better team," Albany head coach Derik Doescher said.
Monticello (8-5, 5-1 Six Rivers East) came out firing. Brandon Holz hit a long 3-pointer and a bunny in the post, and Jacob Marty took a steal coast-to-coast and hit a 3 to give the Ponies a 10-0 lead. Doescher was forced to call a timeout with 3 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first.
The Comets (4-7, 1-3) finally got on the board when Adam Zurfluh hit a 3-pointer with 2:30 left in the opening quarter.
From there, Albany tried to creep back into the game, inching its way back to within five points (26-21) at halftime. T.J. Zweifel hit one of his four 3s with 1:27 left in the half, then dished the ball to Zurfluh in transition with just under a minute to play.
"We get down 10 points right away and put ourselves behind the eight ball. A week ago I might have thought that we would just kind of shut down, but we stayed at it and cut down the score," Doescher said.
Holz sent up a prayer from 45 feet that clanked off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
For much of the second quarter, the Ponies formed a new offensive look, removing Holtz from the action. Though the senior standout still was on the court, he stood around half court near the sidelines and away from the action - forcing Albany to play 4-on-4 defense.
"What we want to do is to play as a team. And Brandon knows that. When they went box-one, Brandon stepped back off the floor. I felt that (Albany's) four guys against our four guys gave us some advantages. And for the most part, it worked out all right," Pickett said.
For Albany, the move was just as positive.
"Holz is in my eyes probably the best player in this conference. We were trying to use our box-one defense to take him out of the game. We didn't think they would literally leave him at half court," Doescher said. "But at the same time, I'm awfully comfortable with that. Our four on their four with him out of the equation is better than 5-on-5 with him in the equation."
In the second half, Monticello went back to its bread and butter offense - mixing solid rebounding with a slew of 3-pointers.
The Ponies rattled off the first seven points of the second half, quickly building a 12-point cushion.
"We haven't started that well in a while," Pickett said of his team's offensive bursts. "We tell our guys all the time that games are 32 minutes."
Monticello's lead reached as many as 14 points at 41-27 with 18 seconds left in the third.
From there, the Ponies did what they had to do to keep control of the ball, including knocking down 7 of 9 free throws in the final frame.
Marty led all scorers with 20 points and four assists. Holz added 14 points, four assists and five rebounds. Casey Klossner had 13 points and eight rebounds for Monticello. Parker Havens had five offensive rebounds (six total) and a hoop, Tyler Meier finished with 10 points and three assists.
"If we want to accomplish what we want to, it's going to take all eight, or nine, or 10 guys to help us do that. Brandon (Holz) knows that and some other guys stepped up tonight," Pickett said.
For Albany, Zurfluh joined Zweifel in double figures with 11 points. Tyler Bauman had eight points and Bryce Hulbert and Jake Lincicum each added six points.
"I was definitely pleased with our effort tonight. We played all 32 minutes," Doescher said.
"They made a few more shots than we did and they were the better team," Albany head coach Derik Doescher said.
Monticello (8-5, 5-1 Six Rivers East) came out firing. Brandon Holz hit a long 3-pointer and a bunny in the post, and Jacob Marty took a steal coast-to-coast and hit a 3 to give the Ponies a 10-0 lead. Doescher was forced to call a timeout with 3 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first.
The Comets (4-7, 1-3) finally got on the board when Adam Zurfluh hit a 3-pointer with 2:30 left in the opening quarter.
From there, Albany tried to creep back into the game, inching its way back to within five points (26-21) at halftime. T.J. Zweifel hit one of his four 3s with 1:27 left in the half, then dished the ball to Zurfluh in transition with just under a minute to play.
"We get down 10 points right away and put ourselves behind the eight ball. A week ago I might have thought that we would just kind of shut down, but we stayed at it and cut down the score," Doescher said.
Holz sent up a prayer from 45 feet that clanked off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
For much of the second quarter, the Ponies formed a new offensive look, removing Holtz from the action. Though the senior standout still was on the court, he stood around half court near the sidelines and away from the action - forcing Albany to play 4-on-4 defense.
"What we want to do is to play as a team. And Brandon knows that. When they went box-one, Brandon stepped back off the floor. I felt that (Albany's) four guys against our four guys gave us some advantages. And for the most part, it worked out all right," Pickett said.
For Albany, the move was just as positive.
"Holz is in my eyes probably the best player in this conference. We were trying to use our box-one defense to take him out of the game. We didn't think they would literally leave him at half court," Doescher said. "But at the same time, I'm awfully comfortable with that. Our four on their four with him out of the equation is better than 5-on-5 with him in the equation."
In the second half, Monticello went back to its bread and butter offense - mixing solid rebounding with a slew of 3-pointers.
The Ponies rattled off the first seven points of the second half, quickly building a 12-point cushion.
"We haven't started that well in a while," Pickett said of his team's offensive bursts. "We tell our guys all the time that games are 32 minutes."
Monticello's lead reached as many as 14 points at 41-27 with 18 seconds left in the third.
From there, the Ponies did what they had to do to keep control of the ball, including knocking down 7 of 9 free throws in the final frame.
Marty led all scorers with 20 points and four assists. Holz added 14 points, four assists and five rebounds. Casey Klossner had 13 points and eight rebounds for Monticello. Parker Havens had five offensive rebounds (six total) and a hoop, Tyler Meier finished with 10 points and three assists.
"If we want to accomplish what we want to, it's going to take all eight, or nine, or 10 guys to help us do that. Brandon (Holz) knows that and some other guys stepped up tonight," Pickett said.
For Albany, Zurfluh joined Zweifel in double figures with 11 points. Tyler Bauman had eight points and Bryce Hulbert and Jake Lincicum each added six points.
"I was definitely pleased with our effort tonight. We played all 32 minutes," Doescher said.
