Even at slower tempo, North Linn able to roll past Monticello, 60-38

TROY MILLS — If you're not playing fast, you're last.

Apologies to Ricky Bobby there, because that's not exactly his quote from the comedy movie 'Talladega Nights.' It's more of a hybrid being used there to explain the North Linn boys' basketball team's philosophy.

Though the Lynx didn't exactly play with their normal pace Saturday afternoon in a 60-38 win over Monticello. The point total was the lowest of the season for Class 1A's second-ranked team.

North Linn (10-0) came in averaging 83.7, including a pair of games in which they eclipsed the 100-point mark.

'We share the ball and have fun,' said North Linn center Adam Waskow.

The style hasn't changed a lick since these kids were ... littler kids. Co-head coach Mike Hilmer began tutoring them when the juniors were in third grade and the sophomores in second.

There are no seniors on the roster, which is pretty scary.

'They were always so fast that we have just always been a running team,' Hilmer said. 'We tried to play man-to-man (defense) and help on big guys sometimes because they were short. This is just the style they have always played, so we kept it going.'

North Linn picks you up defensively at three-quarter court or half court most of the time, looking to trap and create turnovers. It's go, go, go all the time, shoot the 3-pointer when it's there.

It helps to have an exquisite point guard in sophomore Jake Hilmer. He's Mike's son and fellow co-coach Bob Hilmer's grandson.

Jake makes it all go, averaging 24 points and leading the state by a significant margin in assists. He had 13 points here, one of four Lynx in double figures.

Fellow guard David Seber led the way with 15 points. Waskow added 13 and forward Trevor Boge 11.

Seber and Boge also are sophomores. North Linn has played its last three games without junior guard Ryan Miller, a 20-point per-game scorer who cracked a bone in his arm in a game before the holidays.

He's expected back sometime in the next week or two.

'We are about where we want to be right now,' Jake Hilmer said. 'I feel like everything that has been thrown at us this year, we've responded to it. Especially for being such a young team, we play really mature. You wouldn't know our age, I don't think, watching us.'

North Linn scored 27 points in the first quarter, but Monticello (6-4) slowed the tempo from there on, continuously trapping Hilmer and making him give up the ball. The 2A Panthers, who handed North Linn its only regular-season loss last season, were led by Jacob Manternach's 12 points.

'A good team win,' Waskow said. 'We had to play hard on defense, stop the post. We knew our assignments, we just had to execute them.'

'They have a lot of talent and play in a good conference with bigger schools,' Mike Hilmer said. 'We had to match their physicality. I thought our big guys did a pretty good job against their big guys most of the night.'

AT TROY MILLS

MONTICELLO (38): Alex Nealson 2-6 0-0 4, Kyle Sperfslage 1-8 7-11 9, Taylor Manternach 0-0 0-0 0, Avery Martensen 2-2 0-0 5, Jacob Manternach 5-8 1-1 12, Andrew Tjaden 2-5 4-4 8, Jordan Breashears 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-31 12-16 38.

NORTH LINN (60): Trevor Boge 5-6 0-0 11, Adam Waskow 5-6 3-6 13, Carter Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, David Seber 5-9 2-3 15, Jake Hilmer 4-9 4-5 13, Bradley Pflughaupt 2-4 0-0 6, Josh Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-37 9-14 60.

Halftime — North Linn 39, Monticello 22. 3-point goals — Monticello 2-6 (Spersflage 0-3, Martensen 1-1, J. Manternach 1-1, Breashears 0-1), North Linn 7-13 (Boge 1-1, Seber 3-6, Hilmer 1-2, Pflughaupt 2-4). Rebounds — Monticello 24 (Tjaden 7), North Linn 12 (Hilmer 5). Total fouls — Monticello 14, North Linn 13. Fouled out — None. Turnovers — Monticello 20, North Linn 8.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com