MONTICELLO — The Monticello Ponies had a Jekyll and Hyde season. Against Six Rivers East opponents, the Ponies were unblemished, winning all 12 games en route to their third conference title in a row.
In nonconference games, however, Monticello was just 2-10 during the regular season. In the opening game of the WIAA Division 5 playoffs, that trend continued against 11th-seeded Rio (6-19). The No. 6-seed Ponies (14-10) lost 47-43 on their home court to see the season end abruptly March 1.
“I was very proud of our effort throughout the game,” Monticello coach Mark Olson said. “It was just one of those nights where shots didn’t drop. It happens in basketball sometimes, and unfortunately it was in a playoff game. One game doesn’t change the fact that our guys should take in another very successful season.”
Rio led from the beginning of the night, jumping out to an early lead thanks to a bevy of 3-pointers. Tyson Prochnow buried a 3 to get the scoring started, and while Monticello was able to tie it on a conventional 3-point play in the paint by Evan Guenther, the Vikings responded with a 11-2 run that featured three 3s from Dylan Freeman.
Olson called a timeout in the stretch, but continued turnovers and missed shots plagued the Ponies, so Olson called a second timeout with 6:02 left in the first half and his team trailing 22-9.
Monticello responded and closed out the half on a modest 8-2 run.
In the second half, the Ponies kept chipping away, but the Vikings made 5 of 7 free throws down the stretch — plus Freeman nailed two more 3s — to close out the game.
Freeman led all scorers with 15 points — all on 3-pointers — while Cody Bartelt had 13 for Rio and teammate Gavin Grams added 10. Rio advances to play No. 3 seed University Lake/Trinity Academy (16-6).
Monticello did not have a player in double figures. Kade Ace led the Ponies with nine points, while Jackson Eyler had seven and Brayden Ryan six. Monticello was just 12 of 23 from the free throw line, including just 1-for-5 in the opening half. The Ponies also hit just one 3-pointer as a team — a second half shot from Ryer Indergand, his only bucket of the game.
