BLANCHARDVILLE - Monticello senior Brent Klitzke had the weight of the game on his shoulders and he delivered to propel the Ponies to a 56-55 overtime win over Pecatonica Saturday, Feb. 8.
Klitzke was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to go in the extra session. He knocked down all three free throws to help the Ponies escape with the win.
"Knowing Brent, I don't think he was nervous," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "He's a very cool customer. He's a great shooter. His body language said 'I've got this.' He took care of business pretty easily."
With the win, Monticello (10-7, 6-3 Six Rivers East) along with Black Hawk (6-3) and Barneveld (5-2) trail conference leader Albany (6-2) for the conference championship.
"I still think there are four or five teams with a legitimate shot to win the conference," Olson said. "We have to keep our nose down, keep working and hopefully good things will happen."
Pecatonica (8-9, 5-5) rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half. The Vikings made a big turnaround outscoring the Ponies 29-15 in the second half.
"It was a mix of emotions throughout the game," Olson said. "They switched to some different zones and we lost that comfort zone and couldn't find it again."
Monticello senior Lucas Marty scored a team-high 16 points and senior Logan Crooks scored 13 points. Klitzke and junior Ben may each added 12 points.
Pecatonica junior Drew Schliem scored a game-high 26 points. Freshman teammate A.J. Hendrickson chipped in 13 points.
Klitzke was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to go in the extra session. He knocked down all three free throws to help the Ponies escape with the win.
"Knowing Brent, I don't think he was nervous," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "He's a very cool customer. He's a great shooter. His body language said 'I've got this.' He took care of business pretty easily."
With the win, Monticello (10-7, 6-3 Six Rivers East) along with Black Hawk (6-3) and Barneveld (5-2) trail conference leader Albany (6-2) for the conference championship.
"I still think there are four or five teams with a legitimate shot to win the conference," Olson said. "We have to keep our nose down, keep working and hopefully good things will happen."
Pecatonica (8-9, 5-5) rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half. The Vikings made a big turnaround outscoring the Ponies 29-15 in the second half.
"It was a mix of emotions throughout the game," Olson said. "They switched to some different zones and we lost that comfort zone and couldn't find it again."
Monticello senior Lucas Marty scored a team-high 16 points and senior Logan Crooks scored 13 points. Klitzke and junior Ben may each added 12 points.
Pecatonica junior Drew Schliem scored a game-high 26 points. Freshman teammate A.J. Hendrickson chipped in 13 points.
