Monticello boys go 2-0 to close out regular season

The Monticello boys basketball team ended their final week of the regular season with a 2-0 run to secure the #8 seed in the 1A state basketball tournament.
The Monticello boys basketball team earned a victory over Monument Valley at the Buckaroo senior night on February 11.
Monticello built a 47-22 halftime lead that they built to 71-22 before the Cougars forfeited the remainder of the game in the second half.
The senior night saw a new starting lineup with freshman Jake Pehrson taking Cache Young’s starting spot to allow the Pehrson brothers to start together on Kaden’s senior night.
While the younger Pehrson got a few looks in the opening minutes of the game no baskets were able to go down and the freshman was subbed out.
The brothers got another opportunity later in the game when Jake was subbed back on the floor in the third quarter.
Jake swung the ball to Traken Lee in the corner for a give-and-go as Pehrson cut to the basket and laid the ball up and in off the pass from Lee.
The score resulted in an emotional eruption from the Monticello crowd. The score was the final in the game with the Cougars forfeiting the remainder of the contest.
Head Coach Josh Keyes shared post-game that he had known for about a week that he would start the brothers in the game but didn’t let the team know until about five minutes to tip-off.
“You have kids in a program for four years, you learn to love them. There’s no other way around it. I watched Kaden’s dad take him to the gym about every day and when his dad passed you knew basketball was going to be that connection. I wanted to honor Scott tonight with that. Jake is such a good kid, and to get the two brothers on the court at the same time and for Jake to get that basket at the end I don’t think it could’ve ended any better way.”
Coach Keyes also reflected on Kaden’s four years and his impact.
“He’s my best player and our emotional leader on and off the court. He’s a fantastic kid. He just does so much for us.”
Speaking about senior Traken Lee Coach Keyes reflected on a fateful round of golf the two played at the Hideout Golf Course one summer.
Lee and Keyes both recall that while Lee was planning to come to Monticello High, he was only planning to play golf for the Buckaroos.
“I said that’s ridiculous you need to come to play basketball, He said, No I don’t want to. I said why don’t you come to Mesa (State summer basketball camp) with us and see if you like our boys and we’ll see what you think after that’ The rest is history. He’s done an outstanding job for us.”
Keyes called it maybe his best round of golf of the ‘millions’ he’s played.
Coach Keyes also praised senior Aaron Gillette who was unable to play on senior night but Keyes shared that despite Gillete’s many obligations he still brought high energy to practice and did whatever the coaching staff asked.
Speaking post-game Lee shared his thanks to the coaching staff for their relentless work
“They bring so much to the team. They know when to get on you, know when to get you up. It's a valuable thing for this team.”
Reflecting on basketball Kaden Pehrson says he loves the camaraderie.
“Being a part of a team, having a second family. It’s cool when you have a bunch of brothers that all work towards a common goal. I love that.”
Monticello was led in the game by Young who scored 21 points. Kaden Pehrson added 17 while Lee scored 12 and Kooper Nielson recorded 10, Jackson Keyes added nine with Jake Pehrson scoring two for the Bucks.
Lee finished with a double-double as he secured 10 rebounds in the game while Keyes had eight. Kaden Pehrson led the team with five assists and the two seniors also recorded three steals a piece in their final home game.
The Monticello boys team closed the regular season with a victory in Price over Pinnacle Canyon Academy.
The Buckaroos built a 35-22 lead at halftime that they were able to extend to earn a 62-39 victory to end the season.
The Buckaroos were led in scoring by Kaden Pehrson who finished with 24 points, while fellow senior Traken Lee scored 12. Jackson Keyes and Kooper Nielson each scored eight, while Cache Young scored seven and Kord Young had three.
Reflecting after another high-energy performance Nielson shared that’s just the way he plays.
“Coach Keyes always teases and says I never have a chill button. I think it's how I play. I’m aggressive, you want to give your all out there because you never know when your last game is going to be. I always try to give my best effort. I know when I pick up my end then my teammate will catch that vibe and pick up their end too.”
Teammate Jackson Keyes shared that vibe with the Buckaroos playing great second half defense.
“Not to insult ourselves by any means but we might not be the best scoring team in the entire state. We practice a lot on defense because there’s a saying defense turns to offense. That’s a huge thing.”
Reflecting on the season ending with a 13-8 record and as runner-ups in Region 19 play Coach Keyes shared it was a fun season thanks to a whole team effort.
“We’ve won a lot of games and had a lot of great memories. This is a fantastic group. They’ve given me very little stress and it’s enjoyable to watch them play every night. There’s a lot of great basketball ahead. We have a 12 day period without a game it’ll be interesting to navigate that. In practice, the JV kids will push the varsity. This isn’t just the five that start varsity it’s an 18-player team.”
The Buckaroos are on to the state tournament next week. Monticello plays on February 26 at Richfield High School.
The #8 seed Bucks play the #9 seed Piute at 2:30 pm. If you can’t make the game you can catch in on Red Rock Radio 92.7 FM.