Monticello High boys basketball plunders the Pirates to record their first win of the season

The Monticello boys basketball team tipped off their first home game against the Green River Pirates on Tuesday, December 8 and came away with Coach Josh Keyes’s first win of the season and as head coach of the program.

The Bucks got off to hot start offensively, scoring 24 points in the first quarter. Many of those points came from beyond the three-point arc. At the same time MHS held the Pirates to 11 points in the first quarter.

The second was much closer, though the Bucks still won the quarter 15-13 and extended their lead by two to 39-24 at the half.

Again Monticello came out hot in the third quarter to outscore Green River by 14 points, bulging their already healthy lead to 58-29 going into the final quarter.

Due to the sizable lead, Monticello played a lot of bench and younger players in the fourth quarter and held on for a 60-48 win in the parent-filled MHS gymnasium.

Scoring-wise, the Bucks dominated the Pirates, but the team struggled from the floor, shooting just 33 percent on the night. They shot better from long range, hitting ten of their 29 three-point shots.

The team hit 60 percent of their foul shots and won the game in the paint. They scored 24 points inside, out-rebounding Green River 16-7 on the offensive glass. They also shared the ball well, outdistancing the Pirates 14-3 in the assist column.

The Buckaroos were very active defensively, causing 19 deflections and 19 steals which lead to 14 transition points and other opportunities that weren’t as successful. The team also had two blocks on the night.

Cedar English paced the offense, pouring in 30 points on seven of eight three-point shooting and 11 of 17 shooting overall. To that nice scoring line he added 10 rebounds, two assists, and a block.

Corey Bunker scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds to go with two assists and six steals. Joe Boyle played well, dropping in seven points with two three-point baskets, four rebounds, and two assists.

Boston Freestone hit for six points, but helped the cause with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Devin Hatch, Easton Young, and Grant Nebeker added four, three, and two points in the win. Landon Ewart had one rejection in the game.

The 1-2 Bucks will attempt to get to .500 and win two straight against the 3-0 3A Grand County Red Devils when the team travels north to Moab on Thursday, December 17 for a non-region game.

The following night, Monticello will host the 3A San Juan Broncos (5-1) in Monticello, renewing their annual hoop rivalry.

Girls basketball
The Monticello girls had a full week and were fortunate to get a couple games in that required minimal travel. On Tuesday, December 8 the Lady Bucks hopped a bus for a short trip to Blanding to face the San Juan Lady Broncos in a good non-region test for the young team.

The Lady Bucks started slowly against San Juan, digging themselves a 17-9 first quarter deficit. Encouragingly, they bounced back to play the Lady Broncos fairly even in the second quarter but still found themselves down 35-24 at the half.

San Juan outscored Monticello 23-6 to seize a very comfortable 58-30 lead going into the final frame. That quarter was again all San Juan and the Lady Broncos had distanced themselves by a final score of 82-43 as the final horn sounded.

Once again, Monticello had deep production with seven players contributing to the scoring line. Saydee Adams led the Lady Bucks with 12 points. She was followed by Avery Shumway who scored eight including a three-pointer

Kylie Rogers scored seven points, Kennedy Brewer got six with a three, and Ciara McCarthy chipped in five points with a three as well.

Other Lady Bucks scoring in the game were Olivia Chamberlain who added four points and Ali Barry who tossed in one foul shot. As a team MHS was 12 of 19 from the foul line for a 63 percent clip.

Two nights later, the Lady Buckaroos hosted the Green River Lady Pirates in a battle of former Region 19 (and soon-to-be Region 23) rivals.

The two teams know each other very well, having played each other biannually for years. It appeared this edition of the teams’ rivalry would be a defensive battle early on as Monticello ground out an 8-4 advantage in the first quarter.

The Lady Pirates got defensive-minded in the second quarter, getting several steals that led to scoring runs, allowing them to build a 20-12 halftime lead.

Green River continued to force Monticello turnovers in the third quarter and got to the basket for easy hoops, swelling their lead to 32-16. The Lady Pirates dominated the fourth quarter also on their way to a 48-23 win over Monticello. 

Once again, Saydee Adams led Monticello in scoring with nine points. Close behind was Kennedy Brewer who hit for seven. Ciara McCarthy scored five points and connected on the only Lady Buck three-pointer of the game.

Olivia Chamberlain scored two, and Avery Shumway and Ali Barry closed out the Monticello scoring with a point apiece.

This weekend, the Lady Buckaroos will travel to Richfield to participate in the 2020 Central Utah Girls Basketball Preview.

They face the South Summit Lady Wildcats on Friday, December 18 at 4 p.m. and the Millard Lady Eagles on Saturday, December 19 at 1:30 p.m.

Football – 2A All-state
Three Buckaroos made the Deseret News 2A All-state Football Team that was announced this past Friday. Congratulations to senior outside linebacker Tuff Adair for making the All-state second team, and junior wide receiver Logan Draper and junior defensive back Devin Hatch for honorable mentions.