SOUTH WAYNE — Monticello took another step toward a second straight Six Rivers East Conference championship with a tough 48-40 win over Black Hawk Jan. 22.
“It was a low scoring game on both sides, a real defensive battle,” said Mark Olson, Monticello coach. “The way Black Hawk plays — physical, tough and aggressive defense — it was just a great conference game. When the shots aren’t falling, that’s when you really have to rely on your defense to get you through those tough moments, and I thought we did a pretty good job there tonight.”
The two teams slugged it out all night, battling foul trouble and free throw shooting that raised eyebrows.
“The fact that we couldn’t make free throws again — we’ve been struggling this year from the free throw line,” said Trent Wyssbrod, Black Hawk coach. “We shot a lot of free throws this week in practice, because I knew it was going to come down to them (against Monticello). We just couldn’t make them.”
Monticello (13-2, 8-0 Six Rivers), the No. 2-ranked team in Division 5 in the most recent WisSports.net Coaches Poll, led 32-22 at halftime. In the second half, the Ponies led by as much as 15 points at 47-32 with under 2 minutes remaining.
Black Hawk (4-8, 3-2) then got back-to-back 3-pointers by Nathan Figi and Lucas Milz to tighten the score. The two triples were the only shots from downtown the Warriors hit in the contest. During the same stretch to close out the game, the Ponies struggled from the line, going 0-for-9 at one point before Owen Ace hit a free throw with 3.8 seconds left. In regulation.
“Those got to be a little ridiculous at the end there,” Olson said. “Every one felt like it was in, out, then rattled around and fell out. That’s the way the ball breaks sometimes.”
Monticello finished the night 11-for-25 from the line, but a brutal 6-for-21 (28.5%) in the second half. Black Hawk was 6-for-14 in the game, but 4 of 12 in the second half.
Senior Peter Gustafson led all scorers with 22 points for Monticello, and teammate Rudy Wicker added 13 points. Gustafson hit Monticello’s only 3-pointer in the game.
“We just manned up a little bit better there in that second half and pressured them a little bit more,” Wyssbrod said. The Warriors held Gustafson, the conference’s leading scorer, to just four points in the second half. “That was key to the game was to try to hold him to under 15. We know he’s going to score. If we can hold him to 22, we should be able to win the game.”
Clayton Stietz led Black Hawk with 16 points before fouling out. Black Hawk had three starters foul out, and the Warriors finished with a combined 25 fouls, including 16 in the second half. Gustafson and Ace finished with four fouls for Monticello, but the Ponies didn’t have anyone foul out. Monticello was called for 15 fouls on the night.
Monticello was scheduled to play Dodgeville Jan. 26, then travel to Pecatonica Jan. 28 before hosting three straight games against Argyle (Feb. 2), Juda (Feb. 5) and Cambridge (Feb. 8). The Ponies have eight more games remaining in the regular season.
“Every game from here on out is a big game for us. We’re down to the final quadrant of the season, and we know that every time we step out it’s going to be a good battle and we have to be ready for it,” Olson said.
Black Hawk was set to host Barneveld on Jan. 25, then travels to Juda Jan. 28. The Warriors have seven regular season games remaining on the schedule, six of which are against conference opponents.
