BRODHEAD - The Monticello boys basketball team might've thought it was catching a break Monday night when Brodhead's Tate Harnack was spotted in street clothes before the game.
Hardly.
The Cardinals were without a key offensive catalyst, but they didn't skip a beat in the intensity department in rolling to a 55-37 non-conference victory against the Ponies.
Brodhead (13-6), the Rock Valley South Conference's second-place team, won for the seventh time in eight games by dominating the second half against Monticello (11-8), the No. 2 team in the Six Rivers East Conference.
"It's just our mentality as a team that if somebody goes down (to injury), we're not going to sit and sulk about it, we're going to step up to the challenge," Brodhead senior forward Jesse DeLorme said.
DeLorme and senior guard Trent Jordan stepped up big and received plenty of help. DeLorme finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, senior guard Jacob Johnson had 13 points and Jordan added 12.
Brodhead took a 21-19 lead into halftime, but DeLorme and Johnson combined for 22 of their 28 points in the second half, when the Cardinals quickly seized control.
"We came out in the second half and just started doing the little things - dropping shoulders, putting down free throws, helping off on defense," DeLorme said. "As you can see, the little things made a big difference."
DeLorme started the Cardinals' second-half blitz with a basket and a three-point play, and scored nine points in the third quarter as Brodhead built a 38-25 lead.
"Their physicality is tough," Monticello coach Mark Olson said.
"DeLorme, I think all his points came off hustle plays - him just out-hustling our guys."
Johnson rattled in a
3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in the third quarter, then scored seven points in the fourth quarter as Brodhead stretched its lead to 20 points.
Jordan scored nine of his 12 points in the first half, but did his best work on defense by helping hold Monticello's leading scorer, senior Lukas Kolasch, to eight points.
"Trent Jordan not only had to handle the ball for us, but he was on lockdown with Kolasch," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "Trent was definitely tired tonight and he should be tired - he worked his butt off."
Kammerer questioned his team's effort after its only blemish in the last month - a 60-56 loss to a struggling Beloit Turner team at home on Feb. 7. Any of those issues, he said, appear to have been cleaned up.
"It was a big win against a very respectable Monticello group," said Kammerer, who said Harnack is "game-to-game" with a knee bruise.
Monticello was coming off an emotional victory at Six Rivers East foe Juda three days earlier. The Ponies had a rough third quarter in that game, and were outscored 17-6 by Brodhead in the third quarter on Monday.
"(Brodhead) came out aggressive to start the third quarter and once again it seemed like we were surprised by it a little bit," Olson said. "That's something we definitely have to work on."
Junior guard Bryce Klitzke scored nine points to lead Monticello.
Hardly.
The Cardinals were without a key offensive catalyst, but they didn't skip a beat in the intensity department in rolling to a 55-37 non-conference victory against the Ponies.
Brodhead (13-6), the Rock Valley South Conference's second-place team, won for the seventh time in eight games by dominating the second half against Monticello (11-8), the No. 2 team in the Six Rivers East Conference.
"It's just our mentality as a team that if somebody goes down (to injury), we're not going to sit and sulk about it, we're going to step up to the challenge," Brodhead senior forward Jesse DeLorme said.
DeLorme and senior guard Trent Jordan stepped up big and received plenty of help. DeLorme finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, senior guard Jacob Johnson had 13 points and Jordan added 12.
Brodhead took a 21-19 lead into halftime, but DeLorme and Johnson combined for 22 of their 28 points in the second half, when the Cardinals quickly seized control.
"We came out in the second half and just started doing the little things - dropping shoulders, putting down free throws, helping off on defense," DeLorme said. "As you can see, the little things made a big difference."
DeLorme started the Cardinals' second-half blitz with a basket and a three-point play, and scored nine points in the third quarter as Brodhead built a 38-25 lead.
"Their physicality is tough," Monticello coach Mark Olson said.
"DeLorme, I think all his points came off hustle plays - him just out-hustling our guys."
Johnson rattled in a
3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in the third quarter, then scored seven points in the fourth quarter as Brodhead stretched its lead to 20 points.
Jordan scored nine of his 12 points in the first half, but did his best work on defense by helping hold Monticello's leading scorer, senior Lukas Kolasch, to eight points.
"Trent Jordan not only had to handle the ball for us, but he was on lockdown with Kolasch," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "Trent was definitely tired tonight and he should be tired - he worked his butt off."
Kammerer questioned his team's effort after its only blemish in the last month - a 60-56 loss to a struggling Beloit Turner team at home on Feb. 7. Any of those issues, he said, appear to have been cleaned up.
"It was a big win against a very respectable Monticello group," said Kammerer, who said Harnack is "game-to-game" with a knee bruise.
Monticello was coming off an emotional victory at Six Rivers East foe Juda three days earlier. The Ponies had a rough third quarter in that game, and were outscored 17-6 by Brodhead in the third quarter on Monday.
"(Brodhead) came out aggressive to start the third quarter and once again it seemed like we were surprised by it a little bit," Olson said. "That's something we definitely have to work on."
Junior guard Bryce Klitzke scored nine points to lead Monticello.
