ALBANY — Newly-minted No. 2 Monticello improved to 12-2 overall and 7-0 in the Six Rivers East with a dominating 73-31 win over Albany Jan. 19.
After the WIAA reassigned schools for the upcoming basketball playoffs thanks to over three dozen schools opting out of the postseason, 8 of the 10 ranked teams in Division 5 moved to D4. In the next WisSports.net Coaches Poll, Monticello, previously ranked ninth, jumped all the way to No. 2 behind 1-loss Hustisford, which had been fifth.
In the win over the Comets, the visiting Ponies jumped out to a 41-10 lead at halftime, and then outscored the home team 32-21 in the second half.
Peter Gustafson led Monticello with 31 points — the fifth time this season he’s topped the 30-point mark. At 26.2 points per game this season, Gustafson ranks 10th across all divisions in the state.
Also scoring in double figures for the Ponies were Blake Klitzke (12) and Rudy Wicker (11). Rob Schroeder led Albany with 12, while Clay Hulbert had 8.
Cuba City 80, Darlington 70
CUBA CITY — The top-ranked Cubans nearly let a 20-point lead slip away entirely in the second half thanks to the Redbirds, which refused to quit in their SWAL game Jan. 19.
Cuba City led 36-25 at halftime, and then increased that lead by more than 20 in the second half, but the Redbirds closed the deficit to within 7 in the final minutes.
Carter Lancaster led Darlington with 24 points, while Cayden Rankin had 15, Willy Murray 13, Curtis Stone 10 and Hunter Hardyman 8. Rankin hit three 3s, while Stone had two.
Cuba City had just five players score in the game, but all five reached double-figures. Carter Olson led the way with 19 and Max Lucey had 18. Riley Richard added 16 for the Cubans, with Jack Misky (14) and Mason Reese (13) also making an impact.
Darlington (10-3) was ranked fifth in D4 last week, but after being moved to D3 by the WIAA, fell to No. 8 in the new division. Cuba City (9-0) remained in D4 and held on to the No. 1 spot ahead of The Prairie School.
Brodhead 64, Turner 58
BRODHEAD — The Cardinals led by 5 at halftime, but got a big second-half effort across the board to put away the Trojans Jan. 19.
Owen Leifker scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including hitting three key 3s down the stretch. Connor Green had 8 of his 12 points in the second half, and Josiah Engen scored all 8 of his points after the intermission. Brady Malkow also finished the night with 11 points, and Cade Walker hit two big 3s in the first half and leads all of Division 3 in 3-point shooting at 52%. In fact, only Cole Uhlenbrauck of Saint Mary’s Catholic (54.7%) has a better shooting percentage from beyond the arc in the state. Leifker (39.8%) is eighth in D3 in 3-point shooting percentage.
The key to Brodhead’s victory was directly linked to the free throw line. The Cardinals hit just 15 shots from the field in the game — including five from deep. From the charity stripe, Brodhead shot a collective 29 of 37. Leifker was 8-for-8 and Malkow 7 of 10. Turner was 8 of 9 from the line, but hit 10 3s — five in each half.
New Glarus 73, Wisconsin Heights 61
MAZOMANIE — The Knights led 40-32 at halftime and buckled down in the second half to pick up a key win over the Vanguards Jan. 19.
Dain Walter scored 21 points to lead New Glarus, with Carter Siegenthaler adding 16 and Nathan Streiff 12. Breckin Faber and AC Strok each had 9 points for the Knights, with Darris Schuett adding 6. New Glarus (11-4, 4-1 Capitol South) played without defending conference player of the year Mason Martinson for the third straight game.
Devin Brabender led Heights with 23 points, and De’Shawn Barsness added 16.
In other area boys basketball action, Black Hawk lost to Parkview Jan. 18, 77-64.
