For a team searching for their first win of the season, Monticello’s boys basketball team could not have asked for a better start to their Tuesday night matchup against Orange County.
The Mustangs dominated on both sides of the ball in the first quarter, outscoring the Hornets 19-2 and holding Orange County without a field goal for the first nine minutes of the game. Orange County made a couple of runs to get back into the game in the second and fourth quarters, but ultimately, Monticello was able to pull away and get their first win of the season, winning 65-48.
“We were locked in defensively and we were running the floor offensively,” said Monticello coach Gary Spry.
On the defensive end, Monticello ran an extended 3-2 zone that caused a series of turnovers by Orange County and led to easy baskets in transition. On the other end of the floor, the Mustang guards penetrated Orange County’s own zone with ease, leading to a few wide open threes early in the game. Senior Dylan Scheel was responsible for much of Monticello’s early scoring, with four points and a few assists in the opening frame.
The icing on the cake that was a near perfect first quarter for Monticello was a half-court heave from Chase Hummel that splashed through the net as time expired to give the Mustangs a 19-2 lead.
As great as it was for Monticello to start the game off so strongly, Scheel and his teammates knew the game was far from over. “When you go up like that, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself and make little mistakes,” Scheel said. “We did a good job of making sure we didn’t get ahead of ourselves and making sure that every play is made.”
To their credit, the Hornets never gave up. Orange County went to a press to start the second quarter and immediately began to get some opportunities by forcing Monticello turnovers in the back court. Alex Coppola hit two threes in the second quarter and a 10-1 Orange County run helped cut it to an eight-point game midway through the second quarter.
Orange County did well to recover after the devastating first quarter and outscored Monticello 17-7 in the second quarter. At halftime, Monticello held a 26-19 lead.
With the Hornets threatening to stage a comeback, Monticello freshman Dyllan Thompson caught fire in the second half to rebuild the Mustang lead. Thompson scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, including five three pointers. At one point in the third quarter, Thompson hit three consecutive threes to stretch the Monticello lead back to 14 points.
Another 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter from Thompson gave the Mustangs a 51-32 lead, their largest of the game.
Orange County’s Sihle Mthethwa scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the second half to try to will his team back into the game, but Monticello was able to continuously break the Orange County press and seal the victory.
“It feels great, we’ve been working hard this season,” Scheel said after his team’s first victory of the year. “It feels rewarding to finally get a win. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
Up next, Monticello plays at Albemarle on Thursday night. Orange County hosts Fluvanna County on Wednesday night.
