MONTICELLO - Monticello boys basketball coach Brad Pickett knows that if a team's jumpers aren't falling, the one constant should be a stifling defense.
Monticello used an opportunistic pressure defense to survive a scare from Pecatonica and hold on for a 39-33 win in a WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal Tuesday night.
"We knew coming in they (Pecatonica) would battle for 32 minutes," Pickett said. "They are not going to roll over for you. If you can hold the other team to 33 points, you have to be doing something right."
With the Ponies clinging to a 27-26 lead, Monticello junior Jacob Marty stepped up and made a driving layup and was fouled. Marty converted the conventional three-point play to give the Ponies a 30-26 lead with 2 minutes, 53 seconds to go.
"I was just hoping to make a contribution at that spot in the game," Marty said. "I was hoping I could do something because my shots were not falling down."
After Monticello (14-7) came up with a steal on the press, senior Brandon Holz scored down low to give the Ponies a 32-26 lead. Monticello then made 6 of 10 free throws in the last 1:34.
"We knew Pec wasn't going to give up, no matter how much we were up," said Holz, who scored a game-high 14 points. "Jacob always has those spurts and his energy is off the wall. Our defense the last two or three games has been phenomenal."
The clutch three-point play by Marty, who scored 10 points, was his second of the game and it jump-started the Ponies.
"We needed some kind of spark," Pickett said. "Offensively, we have been struggling shooting the ball. Jake made a drive and finished. It definitely gave us a spark."
The Vikings clawed back from an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter with a 6-0 spurt highlighted by a basket down low by senior Kyle Kent and senior Milton Kurschner's layup on the break to cut the Ponies' lead to 26-24 with about 6 minutes left.
Pecatonica coach Jim Syse applauded the Vikings' effort to upset the No. 2-seeded Ponies.
"There is no quit in any of those guys," Syse said. "Things didn't go their way. They just dug deeper. They refused to go down."
Pecatonica (6-15) played with banged-up senior Kaleb Feller and were without junior starter Devin Jeglum, still recovering from a concussion. Feller, who hasn't practiced in three weeks due to a turf toe injury, scored 10 points in his final prep game.
"(Feller) gutted it out," Syse said. "It was his senior year. He wanted to play. He was probably 60 percent, maybe. He had difficulty moving and beating guys off the dribble like he usually does. He had been lifting and shooting. He couldn't run. It's hard to get back in the flow when you have missed three weeks of practice."
Jeglum was sidelined since suffering a concussion Jan. 30 at Barneveld. Syse said doctors haddn't clear him to play.
"It was really tough on him to sit because he was feeling better," Syse said.
Feller didn't start, but he made an immediate impact off the bench. He came in and buried a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. The Ponies responded by scoring eight unanswered points. The Vikings went through a scoreless streak for 9:35 of the first half. Pecatonica senior Jake Rindy snapped the drought by drilling a 3-pointer to cut the Ponies' lead to 8-6 with 4:57 left in the second quarter.
The Vikings used a 2-3 zone throughout the game to contain the Ponies. Both teams struggled shooting in the first half. Monticello shot 29.1 percent (7-for-24) and Pecatonica shot 29.4 percent (5-for-17).
"Defensively, I thought the zone slowed them down and they struggled with it," Syse said. "We just weren't hitting our shots out there. They hurt us on the boards. We didn't bang with them on the boards like we needed to. They just seemed to get the loose balls and we didn't."
Monticello advances to a regional semifinal Thursday and will host Southwestern.
Monticello used an opportunistic pressure defense to survive a scare from Pecatonica and hold on for a 39-33 win in a WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal Tuesday night.
"We knew coming in they (Pecatonica) would battle for 32 minutes," Pickett said. "They are not going to roll over for you. If you can hold the other team to 33 points, you have to be doing something right."
With the Ponies clinging to a 27-26 lead, Monticello junior Jacob Marty stepped up and made a driving layup and was fouled. Marty converted the conventional three-point play to give the Ponies a 30-26 lead with 2 minutes, 53 seconds to go.
"I was just hoping to make a contribution at that spot in the game," Marty said. "I was hoping I could do something because my shots were not falling down."
After Monticello (14-7) came up with a steal on the press, senior Brandon Holz scored down low to give the Ponies a 32-26 lead. Monticello then made 6 of 10 free throws in the last 1:34.
"We knew Pec wasn't going to give up, no matter how much we were up," said Holz, who scored a game-high 14 points. "Jacob always has those spurts and his energy is off the wall. Our defense the last two or three games has been phenomenal."
The clutch three-point play by Marty, who scored 10 points, was his second of the game and it jump-started the Ponies.
"We needed some kind of spark," Pickett said. "Offensively, we have been struggling shooting the ball. Jake made a drive and finished. It definitely gave us a spark."
The Vikings clawed back from an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter with a 6-0 spurt highlighted by a basket down low by senior Kyle Kent and senior Milton Kurschner's layup on the break to cut the Ponies' lead to 26-24 with about 6 minutes left.
Pecatonica coach Jim Syse applauded the Vikings' effort to upset the No. 2-seeded Ponies.
"There is no quit in any of those guys," Syse said. "Things didn't go their way. They just dug deeper. They refused to go down."
Pecatonica (6-15) played with banged-up senior Kaleb Feller and were without junior starter Devin Jeglum, still recovering from a concussion. Feller, who hasn't practiced in three weeks due to a turf toe injury, scored 10 points in his final prep game.
"(Feller) gutted it out," Syse said. "It was his senior year. He wanted to play. He was probably 60 percent, maybe. He had difficulty moving and beating guys off the dribble like he usually does. He had been lifting and shooting. He couldn't run. It's hard to get back in the flow when you have missed three weeks of practice."
Jeglum was sidelined since suffering a concussion Jan. 30 at Barneveld. Syse said doctors haddn't clear him to play.
"It was really tough on him to sit because he was feeling better," Syse said.
Feller didn't start, but he made an immediate impact off the bench. He came in and buried a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. The Ponies responded by scoring eight unanswered points. The Vikings went through a scoreless streak for 9:35 of the first half. Pecatonica senior Jake Rindy snapped the drought by drilling a 3-pointer to cut the Ponies' lead to 8-6 with 4:57 left in the second quarter.
The Vikings used a 2-3 zone throughout the game to contain the Ponies. Both teams struggled shooting in the first half. Monticello shot 29.1 percent (7-for-24) and Pecatonica shot 29.4 percent (5-for-17).
"Defensively, I thought the zone slowed them down and they struggled with it," Syse said. "We just weren't hitting our shots out there. They hurt us on the boards. We didn't bang with them on the boards like we needed to. They just seemed to get the loose balls and we didn't."
Monticello advances to a regional semifinal Thursday and will host Southwestern.
