Quite quickly, everything flipped.
“That’s a lesson learned for (Monticello’s players) to just keep playing, keep on believing in each other, keep on fighting,” said Monticello coach Robert Shelton. “Because you never know what can happen.”
Like a 22-2 game-closing run that gave Monticello a 56-46 win over Albemarle Wednesday night on the road.
For three quarters, Albemarle outplayed the Mustangs, building a 10-point lead while dictating the pace of the game and preventing the Mustangs from attacking the basket with their dynamic senior guards. But in the fourth, Monticello’s Jahvon Shelton started filling it up, pouring in 15 of Monticello’s 22 fourth quarter points en route to a 25-point outing. Shelton couldn’t miss down the stretch, hitting a couple of tough transition buckets while scoring nine of the game’s final 11 points.
“He’s deadly, especially down there on the base line and off the dribble,” said Monticello senior Jhalil Mosley. “He’s got a nice jump shot and he’s been working on it in the offseason. He’s really improved his game all the way around. I’m just happy to know that I know somebody that’s going to step up each night and contribute to the team.”
Monticello got back into it with a strong run to start the fourth, including a breakway dunk by Mosley that pulled the Mustangs within a point. From there, Shelton took over as Monticello played solid defense and rebounded well.
It was an unfortunate turn of events for Albemarle who played big-time defense, for three quarters. But a group that’s thin on experience struggled to turn the tide as Monticello’s seasoned group too control of the game.
“I think their experience showed in the fourth quarter,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “In the fourth quarter when the pressure was on we stopped playing. We just tightened up and started playing to not lose the game instead of playing aggressive to win it.”
Ryan Londree had a big-time first quarter with seven points in the frame but Albemarle struggled to feed the big man after that as he had just two points, on a pair of fourth quarter free throws, after that first quarter. He finished with eight rebounds and nine total points.
De Mallory led the Patriots with 16 points and also pulled down four rebounds. Logan Ford had three steals and four assists on the night.
Shelton got scoring help from James Banks who notched 11 points and from Mosley who finished with nine on the night.
The Mustangs get a long break now before taking the floor again on December 21. Albemarle has to bounce back quickly though with a Friday home clash against Mountain View.
