One of the highlights for a young and developing Monticello boys basketball squad was its road win in overtime against Louisa County. On Tuesday, the Lions got the opportunity to show how much progress they’ve made as runs in the second and fourth quarters into the third allowed the visitors to exact revenge in a 62-52 win to keep them in the mix for the Jefferson District tournament that looms ahead.
“Monticello is a tough team that beat us earlier so the guys had that extra incentive to come in here and play hard,” said Louisa coach Robert Shelton. “It was an important win for Jefferson District seeding, so we’re happy to have it.”
While the Lions got out to a 10-5 start in the first, the Mustangs rallied back to knot things up at 17-17 early in the second quarter behind the play of senior Ukari Brooks. However, in the last four minutes of the first half, the Lions broke through Monticello’s zone defense. Chris Steppe helped to lead a 10-0 run that saw Louisa own the glass, break out in transition and get the job done on the break.
“Coach told us to space the floor,” Steppe said. “They were in a zone most of the time and we had a guy in the middle to space things out… we just tried to play the whole court.”
Up 32-19 at the half, the Lions went back-and-forth with the Mustangs, but a balanced attack on offense and strong defensive rebounding, a theme all-night for Louisa, allowed it to go up 53-35 early in the fourth quarter with Malachi Poindexter aiding the process.
“We just executed the plays and kept the ball moving,” Poindexter said. “We pushed the ball the way Coach Shelton was asking us too. That’s how we get easy baskets so that’s what we had to do. After that, it was just getting the ball to the big men.”
The Lions went to work on the clock from there. While Monticello was able to get a spark offensively and foul its way back to within eight points of the lead with 19.7 seconds left, the Louisa lead never truly came under fire down the stretch.
“Inconsistency, one minute we’re one way and the next we’re another,” said Mustangs coach Gary Spry. “We just have to continue to work hard. Physically we’re tough. Mentally, emotionally, we’re not there yet so we have to continue to keep working.”
For Louisa, Poindexter finished with a team best 14 points. Steppe had 13 points of his own. Carlton Williams finished with eight points. Chris Shelton, Jarett Hunter and Nydgel Crawford each had seven to give the Lions an even-keeled attack.
“They’ve worked hard and developed a chemistry of sharing the ball which is a huge help — you can’t key in on one person,” Shelton said. “When you’re taking one thing away there’s always somebody that’s able to step up and that’s huge for a team heading into the postseason.”
Monticello was led by Brooks’ 22 points. Dean Lockey added nine points. Kobe Copeland had seven points including the 3-pointer in the fourth that made it an eight point contest.
Monticello travels to Waynesboro on Wednesday at 7 p.m. while Louisa hosts Charlottesville on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
