Boys’ basketball notebook: Monticello hits reset as it heads to holiday break

CEDAR RAPIDS - They just haven’t quite been good enough. Yet.

The Monticello Panthers returned three starters, two all-state players, from a team that played in the Class 2A state tournament semifinals last season.

Monti has been a state qualifier three consecutive years.

Yet the club went into the holiday break with a 5-2 record. That’s not a bad mark, obviously, but two losses (three-pointers to Bellevue and Dyersville Beckman) pre-Christmas have been a bit of a surprise.

“You don’t want to lose,” said Monticello Coach Tim Lambert. “But especially that Bellevue game, I honestly think we needed it. We weren’t playing, and we really haven’t consistently played our way.

“Sharing the ball, defensively we’ve just kind of been struggling. So those losses were good for us. It’s a good wake-up call. It’s December, and that’s a good way to look at it.”

Monticello did head into break on a very high note, going to ninth-ranked Camanche and disposing of the Storm, 75-38. There’s certainly an opportunity for the Panthers to use that big win as a springboard for the “second half” of the season.

Monti is led, of course, by the dynamic duo of senior point guard Tate Petersen and junior foward Preston Ries. A four-year starter, Petersen averages 20.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.

Ries, a University of Iowa football commit, averages a team-high 22 points and 10.7 rebounds. Peyton Schilling is the other returning starter.

Sophomore Carson Lambert (the head coach’s nephew) has started all seven games. Senior Ian Temple (five) and freshman Conley Schauf (two) have split starts.

“Every team is it’s own team,” Coach Lambert said. “We have a lot back from last year, but we lost two kids who were seniors. It’s just different. Every team kind of has its own journey. You’ve just got to find your path. We’re finding it, we’re just not completely there, yet. We’re kind of a work in progress.

“But, as it showed the other night, when it clicks, we are really good. We can’t take two steps forward and three steps back, and that’s what we’ve been doing. That’s kind of what it felt like the first two weeks.”

Around The Hoop

– Organizers of the Wells Fargo Advisors Shootout have announced the official schedule for this season’s event, which is Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at Coe College.

The seven-game event begins at 10:30 a.m. that day when Durant pays Mediapolis. Durant has a 2-6 record going into the new year, and Mediapolis is 4-3.

At noon, Central City (6-4) plays Class 1A ninth-ranked Dunkerton (8-0). The Wildcats beat East Buchanan, 61-47, Tuesday night to move to 6-4.

Sophomore Matthew Klostermann leads Central City in scoring this season at 14.3 points per game, followed closely by Mekhi Benton (13.5). Central City had a 5-18 record last season.

At 1:30 p.m., Don Bosco (2-7) plays 10th-ranked Bellevue Marquette (10-0) in a matchup of Class 1A parochial schools. Following at approximately 3, it’s an interesting matchup between Cascade (4-3) and Alburnett (6-1).

Alburnett’s lone loss was by two points to Class 1A No. 2 North Linn. Like Cascade, the Pirates are in Class 2A this season.

At 4:30, it will be Mississippi Valley Conference rivals Linn-Mar (2-4) and Cedar Rapids Prairie (1-5) squaring off. The teams played a one-point game last week that Linn-Mar won on a last-second shot by Payson Nietert.

At 6 p.m., Pleasant Valley and Ames will play. PV has a 4-3 record, while Ames (last year’s 4A state champion) is 3-4.

The event concludes at about 7:30 with a 4A-3A encounter between Iowa City Liberty and Fairfield. Class 4A Liberty is 4-3 and 3A Fairfield is 3-4.

– The River Valley Conference is having a league shootout January 7, 2023, at Kirkwood Community College’s Johnson Hall.

Pairings for the all-day event have not yet been finalized, but each game will feature a team from the South Division and one from the North Division. Coaches are voting to create matchups.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com