MONTICELLO — The Cardinals opened their Feb. 13 regular season nonconference finale at Monticello on a 10-0 run over the first three minutes, then closed the contest on a 15-0 run over the last four. Luckily for Brodhead, the host Ponies only outscored the Cardinals 63-43 in the interim.
“I wrote on the board before the game that this is playoff mentality — we’re treating this like a playoff game,” Brodhead coach Tommy Meier said after his team’s 68-63 victory over Monticello, one of the top-ranked teams in Division 5. “They’re a very good team and ranked No. 2 in Division 5, so this is going to prepare us for Tuesday.”
Two days prior in a 59-46 loss to Evansville, the Cardinals lost big man Brady Malkow to a wrist injury. Malkow had turned into a double-double machine for Brodhead over the closing weeks of the regular season, and with little time to prepare, the Cardinals were able to scratch together a game-plan for the Ponies. Meier said that he knew his team couldn’t stop Peter Gustafson, so instead they would try to stop everyone else.
Monticello, meanwhile, returned to action Feb. 11 after a two-week COVID-19 pause. The Ponies trampled Juda 68-29, but found themselves rusty in the Brodhead game.
We needed to battle. We knew we were in it, but we are short-handed, down a starter and that’s the only size we have. We knew we had some matchup issues, but at halftime we just talked about how we are a talented team, but that we just didn’t play like it. The biggest thing was getting some confidence and trying to adjust.Tommy Meier, Brodhead coach
“You don’t just step right back on the court and you’re good to go — it took a little bit of time to get our legs back under us,” Ponies coach Mark Olson said.
After the hot start by the Cardinals, the Ponies took advantage of favorable whistles and slowly worked their way back into the game. Senior Peter Gustafson scored on an And-1 with 9:03 left in the first to make it a 4-point game at 22-18, but Brodhead’s Owen Leifker hit back-to-back 3s to put the Ponies’ deficit back to 10. Over the final 5:05 of the half, Monticello outscored Brodhead 12-0 and went into the break with a basket lead.
“We needed to battle. We knew we were in it, but we are short-handed, down a starter and that’s the only size we have. We knew we had some matchup issues, but at halftime we just talked about how we are a talented team, but that we just didn’t play like it. The biggest thing was getting some confidence and trying to adjust,” Meier said.
To make matters worse for the Cardinals, the Ponies opened up the second half on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 8. The advantage eventually grew to as high as 12 at 51-39 with 10:54 left in regulation.
Leading 63-53 with 3:54 left in the game, Monticello’s game plan froze. Gustafson had scored 38 points by then, one shy of his career high. However, neither he nor any of his teammates could score in the final 3:54. Sloppy turnovers, fouls on rebounds and missed shots gave Brodhead the opportunity to get back into the game — and the Cardinals took full advantage.
“We got a little casual with the ball late,” Olson said. “I did not love our offensive possessions late in the game. There’s a certain way we like to play it to close games out, and we didn’t play that way today. Brodhead took advantage of that, and they should have — they are a good team, a talented team. If you give good teams like them chances, that’s what happens.”
Leifker hit a 3 with 1:43 left to give Brodhead a 1-point lead. The Cardinals hit four free throws over the final 63 seconds to seal the win. In the loss to Evansville, Leifker and Cade Walker each had 13 points. Evansville outscored Brodhead 32-23 in the second half.
Leifker had 27 points and five 3s to lead Brodhead, while Josiah Engen finished with 13. Connor Green and Devon Anderson each had eight.
We got a little casual with the ball late. I did not love our offensive possessions late in the game. There’s a certain way we like to play it to close games out, and we didn’t play that way today. Brodhead took advantage of that, and they should have — they are a good team, a talented team. If you give good teams like them chances, that’s what happens.Mark Olson, Monticello coach
“It was kind of a quiet 27” for Leifker, Meier said. “It was battle for us. I think the fouls at one point were 17-6 against us. We were short-handed with foul trouble — the fact that they could pull it out shows a lot of heart with these guys.”
Gustafson finished with 28 points and three 3s. Owen Ace had 9 points for Monticello, and teammate Tristin Flanagan added 8. In Monticello’s win over Juda, Gustafson had 27 points and Ace 13. The Ponies led 68-29 at half. Aaron Makos led Juda with 18 points.
Up next for Brodhead is the WIAA Division 3 playoff opener at home against Cambridge Feb. 16. The winner will travel to face St. John’s NW Academies Feb. 19, one of the top-ranked teams in the state.
“Cambridge has a couple of nice guards, so if we can handle that and just get our offense going and get Brady healthy,” we could win, Meier said.
Monticello has a first-round playoff bye and will face either Williams Bay Faith Christian or Burlington Catholic Central on Feb. 19.
“I think we go back and forth about whether (the bye) is beneficial or not. It probably helps us just to get a little bit healthier this week — I think a couple of guys are banged up, and a part of it is coming back after the two-week layoff, some soft tissue things start to flare up,” Olson said. “We were fortunate to have these two games to give a chance to kind of get a feel of what playing games is like again.”
