MONTICELLO - Even without Monticello's resident sparkplug on the court, the Ponies found a way to electrify the crowd.
With Tyler Ritschard on the bench with foul trouble in the fourth quarter, Corey McGowan and Lukas Kolasch brought the stands to their feet. The pair distributed the ball to each other to the tune of five 3-pointers in the second half as Monticello outscored Barneveld by 15 points in the final frame en route to a 61-50 victory and a share of the Six Rivers East title.
"It's kind of ironic. In pregame we talked about that if someone goes down or gets in foul trouble we all have to play our roles and step up," said Kolasch, a junior who scored 11 points. "Everyone stepped up and did their job tonight."
Sometimes the most important quarter of an entire season of work is the final one. The Ponies (17-5, 11-1) had lost three straight games -including the playoffs - to Barneveld (17-4, 11-1) dating back to last season and entered the fourth quarter on Friday trailing 36-32 with two starters on the bench in foul trouble.
"That's adversity," said McGowan, a senior who scored 18 points and hit five 3s in the game - four in the second half. "Coach always tells us to take the best shot on the floor."
Ritschard left the game with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in the third after committing his fourth foul. Teammate Chris Voegeli already had picked up his fourth a minute earlier.
"I had faith in them. I knew they were going to bring us back," said Ritschard, who led all scorers with 20 points. "They played better than I could even imagine."
By the time Ritschard's re-entered the game, his teammates had taken a 44-43 lead with just 4:15 left to play. All the senior did the final four minutes was go 10-for-10 from the free-throw line while in the bonus.
"I have a lot of confidence at the line," Ritschard said. "I want the ball in my hand in those situations. Being a senior captain I feel like I should be the one to step up and finish the game off."
The energy in the gym nearly hit its peak twice when Reid Zanoya hit open look layups under the hoop.
As the clock hit all zeros, the remaining energy ran through the bodies of players and the fans in the more than sold-out Pony Barn. In fact, the student section stampeded the court to join their classmates in celebration near the midcourt.
"It was beautiful, indescribable almost," Kolasch said. "It's very reassuring to get a win like this with the tournament coming. It says a lot about our team."
After shaking hands with the Barneveld players, Monticello coach Mark Olson kept his kids away from the locker room, instead opting to celebrate right away.
"This is one of those moments you want to enjoy with your friends and your family," Olson said. "It seemed like everybody in the community was here."
The win gave the Ponies its third-straight Six Rivers East championship - all of which have been shared with Barneveld. The title streak is a school record for Monticello.
"For my senior class to be apart of that, the first three-peat in Monticello history, We're going to brag about that until we die," McGowan said. "This is one of the biggest wins in Monticello history."
"It just preaches to what we've tried to tell the guys all year - we need to play together and it takes a team to win. I'm so proud of those guys," Olson said. "Especially Corey, he's got a knack for the moment."
Monticello doesn't have much time to celebrate. Albany (4-18, 2-10) comes to town on March 1 to open the WIAA Division 5 playoffs. The Comets lost to the Ponies by just nine on Feb. 22, the same night Ritschard went over the 1,000-point mark in his career.
"It's one game at a time now. We're looking forward to Albany," Ritschard said.
With Tyler Ritschard on the bench with foul trouble in the fourth quarter, Corey McGowan and Lukas Kolasch brought the stands to their feet. The pair distributed the ball to each other to the tune of five 3-pointers in the second half as Monticello outscored Barneveld by 15 points in the final frame en route to a 61-50 victory and a share of the Six Rivers East title.
"It's kind of ironic. In pregame we talked about that if someone goes down or gets in foul trouble we all have to play our roles and step up," said Kolasch, a junior who scored 11 points. "Everyone stepped up and did their job tonight."
Sometimes the most important quarter of an entire season of work is the final one. The Ponies (17-5, 11-1) had lost three straight games -including the playoffs - to Barneveld (17-4, 11-1) dating back to last season and entered the fourth quarter on Friday trailing 36-32 with two starters on the bench in foul trouble.
"That's adversity," said McGowan, a senior who scored 18 points and hit five 3s in the game - four in the second half. "Coach always tells us to take the best shot on the floor."
Ritschard left the game with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in the third after committing his fourth foul. Teammate Chris Voegeli already had picked up his fourth a minute earlier.
"I had faith in them. I knew they were going to bring us back," said Ritschard, who led all scorers with 20 points. "They played better than I could even imagine."
By the time Ritschard's re-entered the game, his teammates had taken a 44-43 lead with just 4:15 left to play. All the senior did the final four minutes was go 10-for-10 from the free-throw line while in the bonus.
"I have a lot of confidence at the line," Ritschard said. "I want the ball in my hand in those situations. Being a senior captain I feel like I should be the one to step up and finish the game off."
The energy in the gym nearly hit its peak twice when Reid Zanoya hit open look layups under the hoop.
As the clock hit all zeros, the remaining energy ran through the bodies of players and the fans in the more than sold-out Pony Barn. In fact, the student section stampeded the court to join their classmates in celebration near the midcourt.
"It was beautiful, indescribable almost," Kolasch said. "It's very reassuring to get a win like this with the tournament coming. It says a lot about our team."
After shaking hands with the Barneveld players, Monticello coach Mark Olson kept his kids away from the locker room, instead opting to celebrate right away.
"This is one of those moments you want to enjoy with your friends and your family," Olson said. "It seemed like everybody in the community was here."
The win gave the Ponies its third-straight Six Rivers East championship - all of which have been shared with Barneveld. The title streak is a school record for Monticello.
"For my senior class to be apart of that, the first three-peat in Monticello history, We're going to brag about that until we die," McGowan said. "This is one of the biggest wins in Monticello history."
"It just preaches to what we've tried to tell the guys all year - we need to play together and it takes a team to win. I'm so proud of those guys," Olson said. "Especially Corey, he's got a knack for the moment."
Monticello doesn't have much time to celebrate. Albany (4-18, 2-10) comes to town on March 1 to open the WIAA Division 5 playoffs. The Comets lost to the Ponies by just nine on Feb. 22, the same night Ritschard went over the 1,000-point mark in his career.
"It's one game at a time now. We're looking forward to Albany," Ritschard said.
