With the manner in which Denzel Terry and Jhalil Mosley were flying around the court on both sides of the ball, the game had the feel of a track meet. The two Monticello sophomores where everywhere, creating turnovers and pushing the ball up the court at full speed. And when William Monroe was forced to try and lock the tandem down late in the fourth, the Monticello veterans finished the job as the Mustangs held on late in the fourth quarter to pick up a quality Jefferson District road win over the Greene Dragons on Friday night.
“We’re getting there,” said Monticello coach Kareem Martin. “It’s going to be a process with this group, but they are starting to understand each other, where they all are going to be on the floor. They’re starting to trust each other and I’m really liking what I see with this young group with four new starters.”
The first eight minutes of the game belonged entirely to Monroe. With Desmon Shaver hitting 3-pointers and Markel Faulkner getting the job done in the paint, the Dragons jumped out to a double-digit lead, 18-7 late in the first quarter.
However, Monticello stormed back by going on an 11-2 run between the end of the first and start of second quarter to make it a 2-point contest. From that point on, it was a dog fight.
Although Monroe struggled to hit their shots in the second, Shaver was able to keep his squad out in front on his 3-point shooting along with some help from Markel Williams. The Dragons entered the third quarter with a 4-point lead, but in the second half, the momentum slowly swung into Monticello’s favor.
“I was really happy with the way we started the game and come out of the locker room,” said Monroe coach Mike Maynard. “But I did think that we should have gone into halftime with a bigger lead. We really let them back into the game there.”
The Mustangs started the third quarter by out-rebounding Monroe on both sides of the court. Although he had no points in the first half, Monticello senior Tyler Moneymaker came to life in the begining of the third quarter and capitalized on his second chance shots. With Terry forcing turnovers in transition as well as on inbounds passes, and Mosley drawing fouls by getting to the basket, Monticello took a 2-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
“They just killed us on the glass there,” Maynard said. “We had some unfortunate turnovers but also, I thought they played a lot better than we did offensively.”
Terry and Mosley continued to wreak havoc in the fourth, putting their squad up by six midway through the final frame. Monroe was forced to press and keep watch on the two guards late in the fourth, and it was then that junior Kevin Archer and Moneymaker made their biggest impact as they piled up easy points underneath the hoop when the Mustangs broke the press.
“Our intensity level wasn’t there in that first quarter,” Terry said. “But after that we stepped it up and stepped it up. I think they got tired there in the fourth and we went 100 miles per hour to get us out of here with the victory.”
Trailing by seven with just a little over two minutes left, Monroe made it 4-point game when it capitalized on a Mustangs turnover. But Monticello would allow the home squad to get no closer, and one minute later a pair of Archer baskets had the Mustangs up by six. In the final minute of play the Dragons tried to foul their way back into the game, sending Mosley to the line, but the sophomore did not flinch and came through with free throws when his team needed them the most.
“We did miss 15 free throws on the night, that was the one big negative for us,” Martin said. “But at the same time, we hit them when we needed them the most.”
Four Monticello players finished in double figures with Terry leading the way with 20 points, Moneymaker collecting 16 and both Mosley and Archer grabbing 14. Terry finished the game with five steals. Moneymaker had seven rebounds.
Shaver was the top scorer and rebounder on the night with his 22-point, 12-rebound showing. Faulkner had 14 points to go with 11 boards. Williams gave the Dragons three double-digit scorers with his 15-point effort.
The Mustangs (3-2, 2-1) host Western Albemarle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Monroe (3-2, 1-1) step back out of the JD when it hosts Luray on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
