ALBANY - Monticello senior Bryce Klitzke looked like a free safety roaming around on a football field in the Ponies' 1-3-1 press against Albany, in a tale of two halves Thursday night.
Klitzke scored a game-high 25 points as the Ponies overcame a 13-point deficit to pull out a 54-46 win.
"We just really turned up the intensity," said Klitzke who scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half. "We came out in the 1-3-1 press and they didn't know what to do. We knew we had to collapse on Shell. I have been playing the passing lanes a lot lately. It just keeps working, so I keep on doing it."
Monticello coach Mark Olson liked the passion his team played with on defense in the second half.
"This is the biggest adversity we have faced," Olson said. "Being down 13 points and coming out with a renewed sense of intensity was very encouraging. I hope they can get some confidence from this."
Albany (1-4, 0-2 Six Rivers East) stormed out to an 11-1 lead behind Isaiah Shell. Shell, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, scored 11 of his team's first 13 points. The Comets shot a blistering 52.1 percent (12 of 23) in the first half. Shell drilled a 3-pointer and scored on a layup with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Comets a 9-1 lead. He then knocked down a jumper before Monticello sophomore Ben May hit a 3-pointer to cut the Comets' lead to 13-8 at the end of the first.
Albany sophomore Mitchell Trow stepped up and made some clutch shots in the first half. He scored all 10 of his points in the first half and knocked down two 3-pointers to give the Comets a 23-10 lead with 4:46 to go in the second quarter.
"It wasn't just Isaiah," Olson said of the Comets' hot shooting start. "They were all doing well shooting it. My concern was we were not doing a good enough job defensively."
The second half was a different story as Monticello (6-0, 2-0) used a 1-3-1 press to ignite a 14-0 third quarter run. The Comets went through more than a 7-minute scoring drought in the third quarter and committed seven of their 17 turnovers and shot 0-for-7 during the cold spell.
"(Monticello) came out on fire defensively in the second half," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "We crumbled in the second half. It was a nightmare. In the second half, it looked like a hot potato. The thing about the turnovers is they were in the backcourt and led to layups. If we turn the ball over in the frontcourt, we have a chance to get back to play defense and get a stop."
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, the Comets shot just 16.6 percent in the second half (4 of 24). Olson didn't make a big philosophical defensive switch in the second half.
"We had been trying to do (the press) the whole game," Olson said. "We just didn't make enough baskets to make it work. In the second half, we did a much better job of rotating and not giving them good open looks and we did a better job on Isaiah."
Albany played without two starters in senior Tyler Van Dusen and junior Grant Schoenenberger due to injuries.
"That's not an excuse," Doescher said. "We have other guys who stepped up into those roles."
Albany junior Mitchell Kauk added 10 points.
Klitzke scored on a layup and junior Lucas Marty banked in a shot after grabbing an offensive rebound to slice the Comets' lead to 28-22 with 5:31 30 left in the third quarter. Klitzke came up with a steal and layup and hit two free throws with 1:51 to go in the third quarter to tie the game at 28. Senior Jesse Halvorsen then banked in a shot to cap the spurt and give the Ponies a 30-28 lead. After getting off to a rocky shooting start, the Ponies were able to use their defense to create some offense and shot 60.7 percent (17 of 28) in the second half.
May scored 13 points for the Ponies and senior Aaron Hefty added seven points.
"In the first half, we just couldn't finish at the rim," Klitzke said. "In the second half, we crashed the boards and got some offensive rebounds and we were able to convert."
The Ponies limited Shell to 1 of 8 shooting and just six points in the second half. Shell did make two free throws with 2:51 to go to cut the Ponies' lead to 48-44, but that is as close as the Comets would get. Klitzke scored on two layups in the final 1:33 to seal the win.
"Isaiah went off in the first quarter and when they closed in on him, Mitchell Trow hit some big shots," Doescher said.
Doescher just wants to see the Comets make some improvements handling the press.
"We need to slow down and see things under control," he said. "We have to be under control mentally and physically. We can't do too much, because that gets us out of control."
Klitzke scored a game-high 25 points as the Ponies overcame a 13-point deficit to pull out a 54-46 win.
"We just really turned up the intensity," said Klitzke who scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half. "We came out in the 1-3-1 press and they didn't know what to do. We knew we had to collapse on Shell. I have been playing the passing lanes a lot lately. It just keeps working, so I keep on doing it."
Monticello coach Mark Olson liked the passion his team played with on defense in the second half.
"This is the biggest adversity we have faced," Olson said. "Being down 13 points and coming out with a renewed sense of intensity was very encouraging. I hope they can get some confidence from this."
Albany (1-4, 0-2 Six Rivers East) stormed out to an 11-1 lead behind Isaiah Shell. Shell, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, scored 11 of his team's first 13 points. The Comets shot a blistering 52.1 percent (12 of 23) in the first half. Shell drilled a 3-pointer and scored on a layup with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Comets a 9-1 lead. He then knocked down a jumper before Monticello sophomore Ben May hit a 3-pointer to cut the Comets' lead to 13-8 at the end of the first.
Albany sophomore Mitchell Trow stepped up and made some clutch shots in the first half. He scored all 10 of his points in the first half and knocked down two 3-pointers to give the Comets a 23-10 lead with 4:46 to go in the second quarter.
"It wasn't just Isaiah," Olson said of the Comets' hot shooting start. "They were all doing well shooting it. My concern was we were not doing a good enough job defensively."
The second half was a different story as Monticello (6-0, 2-0) used a 1-3-1 press to ignite a 14-0 third quarter run. The Comets went through more than a 7-minute scoring drought in the third quarter and committed seven of their 17 turnovers and shot 0-for-7 during the cold spell.
"(Monticello) came out on fire defensively in the second half," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "We crumbled in the second half. It was a nightmare. In the second half, it looked like a hot potato. The thing about the turnovers is they were in the backcourt and led to layups. If we turn the ball over in the frontcourt, we have a chance to get back to play defense and get a stop."
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, the Comets shot just 16.6 percent in the second half (4 of 24). Olson didn't make a big philosophical defensive switch in the second half.
"We had been trying to do (the press) the whole game," Olson said. "We just didn't make enough baskets to make it work. In the second half, we did a much better job of rotating and not giving them good open looks and we did a better job on Isaiah."
Albany played without two starters in senior Tyler Van Dusen and junior Grant Schoenenberger due to injuries.
"That's not an excuse," Doescher said. "We have other guys who stepped up into those roles."
Albany junior Mitchell Kauk added 10 points.
Klitzke scored on a layup and junior Lucas Marty banked in a shot after grabbing an offensive rebound to slice the Comets' lead to 28-22 with 5:31 30 left in the third quarter. Klitzke came up with a steal and layup and hit two free throws with 1:51 to go in the third quarter to tie the game at 28. Senior Jesse Halvorsen then banked in a shot to cap the spurt and give the Ponies a 30-28 lead. After getting off to a rocky shooting start, the Ponies were able to use their defense to create some offense and shot 60.7 percent (17 of 28) in the second half.
May scored 13 points for the Ponies and senior Aaron Hefty added seven points.
"In the first half, we just couldn't finish at the rim," Klitzke said. "In the second half, we crashed the boards and got some offensive rebounds and we were able to convert."
The Ponies limited Shell to 1 of 8 shooting and just six points in the second half. Shell did make two free throws with 2:51 to go to cut the Ponies' lead to 48-44, but that is as close as the Comets would get. Klitzke scored on two layups in the final 1:33 to seal the win.
"Isaiah went off in the first quarter and when they closed in on him, Mitchell Trow hit some big shots," Doescher said.
Doescher just wants to see the Comets make some improvements handling the press.
"We need to slow down and see things under control," he said. "We have to be under control mentally and physically. We can't do too much, because that gets us out of control."
