MONTICELLO - Point guard Lucas Marty and the Monticello boys basketball team will have bragging rights with rival New Glarus for a year after the Ponies pulled out a thrilling 72-67 double overtime win over the Glarner Knights Saturday, Nov. 30.
Marty, a Monticello senior, scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had four steals, and junior Ben May scored 22 points to propel the Ponies.
"It feels great," Marty said. "It's always fun. You will always be able to say, 'Remember when we played that double overtime game?' The best thing is we will be able to talk about it when we see each other 15 years from now."
The Ponies (1-1) stormed back from an 8-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Marty came up with a key steal and hit two free throws with 9.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Ponies a 54-51 lead. New Glarus senior Caleb Fredrickson drilled a fade away 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 54 to force overtime.
"Caleb is one of my best friends," Marty said. "If anyone is going to make that shot I'm glad it was him (Fredrickson). It made the game more fun. We didn't let it faze us."
New Glarus senior Patrick Elzen fouled out with 2 minutes, 30 seconds to go in the first overtime. New Glarus sophomore Landon Zimmerman scored on a putback with 2:15 left to give the Knights a 62-58 lead. Marty answered hitting a 3-pointer.
New Glarus sophomore Gavin Binger, who had a team-high 18 points, scored on a layup with 1:20 left, to give the Knights a 64-61 lead. May then answered, knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 64 to send it to a second extra session.
Binger's shot to win the game was blocked at the end of the first overtime.
Fredrickson and Monticello's Logan Crooks each fouled out in the second overtime. The Ponies made 23 of 31 free throws in the final 2 minutes and in both overtimes, including 11 of 13 in the fourth quarter. The Knights had several four and five-point leads, but couldn't close out the game at the foul line. The Knights (1-2) were 3 of 9 shooting free throws in the two overtimes.
"We struggled with the same three things - turnovers, free throws and finishing at the basket, that we have all year," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We left a lot of points on the court. It would be nice to have some of those free throws back. Give Monticello credit. They have a good one-two punch with Marty and May."
The Ponies used a halfcourt trap to force the Knights into some turnovers late in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback.
"It feels great to get a win against a tough team like New Glarus," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "We had to dig deep. We had to change the tempo and make something happen. The guys want to run and they like playing like that. When you are down you have to do something to get back into it. It happened to work for us today."
The Knights will focus on breaking a trapping and pressing defense.
"If you are not aggressive enough against a trapping defense, you are playing into their hands," Sysko said.
New Glarus had four players in double figures. In addition to Binger, Fredrickson scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers, Zimmerman added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Austin Schleuter had 10 points.
"Caleb hit some big shots for us," Sysko said. "It's nice to see him step up for us."
Binger gave the Knights a big lift off the bench. Sysko is confident he has more than enough capable scorers.
"I thought Gavin had a great game," Sysko said. "He showed what he is capable of. I think we have a lot of guys capable of scoring. We just have to be more consistent doing it."
Marty was 7 of 10 shooting free throws in the two extra sessions. Monticello's Ryan Smith and Marty made two free throws with 19.8 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Ponies a 70-67 lead.
"We were just trying to get into a position to score," Marty said. "Free throws were huge for us. It came up big tonight. It will be big all season."
Marty, a Monticello senior, scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had four steals, and junior Ben May scored 22 points to propel the Ponies.
"It feels great," Marty said. "It's always fun. You will always be able to say, 'Remember when we played that double overtime game?' The best thing is we will be able to talk about it when we see each other 15 years from now."
The Ponies (1-1) stormed back from an 8-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Marty came up with a key steal and hit two free throws with 9.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Ponies a 54-51 lead. New Glarus senior Caleb Fredrickson drilled a fade away 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 54 to force overtime.
"Caleb is one of my best friends," Marty said. "If anyone is going to make that shot I'm glad it was him (Fredrickson). It made the game more fun. We didn't let it faze us."
New Glarus senior Patrick Elzen fouled out with 2 minutes, 30 seconds to go in the first overtime. New Glarus sophomore Landon Zimmerman scored on a putback with 2:15 left to give the Knights a 62-58 lead. Marty answered hitting a 3-pointer.
New Glarus sophomore Gavin Binger, who had a team-high 18 points, scored on a layup with 1:20 left, to give the Knights a 64-61 lead. May then answered, knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 64 to send it to a second extra session.
Binger's shot to win the game was blocked at the end of the first overtime.
Fredrickson and Monticello's Logan Crooks each fouled out in the second overtime. The Ponies made 23 of 31 free throws in the final 2 minutes and in both overtimes, including 11 of 13 in the fourth quarter. The Knights had several four and five-point leads, but couldn't close out the game at the foul line. The Knights (1-2) were 3 of 9 shooting free throws in the two overtimes.
"We struggled with the same three things - turnovers, free throws and finishing at the basket, that we have all year," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We left a lot of points on the court. It would be nice to have some of those free throws back. Give Monticello credit. They have a good one-two punch with Marty and May."
The Ponies used a halfcourt trap to force the Knights into some turnovers late in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback.
"It feels great to get a win against a tough team like New Glarus," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "We had to dig deep. We had to change the tempo and make something happen. The guys want to run and they like playing like that. When you are down you have to do something to get back into it. It happened to work for us today."
The Knights will focus on breaking a trapping and pressing defense.
"If you are not aggressive enough against a trapping defense, you are playing into their hands," Sysko said.
New Glarus had four players in double figures. In addition to Binger, Fredrickson scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers, Zimmerman added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Austin Schleuter had 10 points.
"Caleb hit some big shots for us," Sysko said. "It's nice to see him step up for us."
Binger gave the Knights a big lift off the bench. Sysko is confident he has more than enough capable scorers.
"I thought Gavin had a great game," Sysko said. "He showed what he is capable of. I think we have a lot of guys capable of scoring. We just have to be more consistent doing it."
Marty was 7 of 10 shooting free throws in the two extra sessions. Monticello's Ryan Smith and Marty made two free throws with 19.8 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Ponies a 70-67 lead.
"We were just trying to get into a position to score," Marty said. "Free throws were huge for us. It came up big tonight. It will be big all season."
