The Ponies led by 10 points at halftime against visitors Orfordville Parkview on February 6th, during a fast paced game. After halftime, Parkview came out on a 17-6 run and were leading by 1 point nine minutes in. The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the half until Parkview tied it up at 48 with less than two minutes to play. The horn was blowing when an Orfordville player launched a 15-foot shot from the left baseline that went in. The final score was Orfordville Parkview 50, Monticello 48.

“We lost a heart-breaker. We had pushed out to a 13-point lead in the first half, and had played very well. We were able to attack the post and liked the tempo of the game,” said Coach Mark Olson. “Mid-way through the first half, Zach Price sustained an ankle injury and was forced to sit out the rest of the game. Parkview slowly chipped away, and pulled even, but we fought back and forth to the end. After we turned the ball over, they were able to track down an offensive rebound and made a tough shot at the buzzer to win.”

Jon Errthum put 15 points on the board and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Ponies. Reece Rufer scored 11 points and had five rebounds, and Travis McCoy scored 9 points. Jeffrey Ace ended the game with six rebounds.

On February 9th, the Ponies hosted Barneveld. Down by only 1 point in the first half, the Ponies were devastated by a 21-4 run by Barneveld that finished out the half. At the beginning of the second half, Barneveld went on another 21-4 run. Despite almost equal play by both teams the rest of the game, the Ponies lost the game. The final score was Barneveld 69, Monticello 32.

“We struggled at times against the press but fought better against them than we did the first time we played,” said Olson. “We are hoping to be healthy and rested for the last run of games coming up this season.”

Leading the Ponies in scoring was Jon Errthum, with 10 points. Errthum also had 13 rebounds. Braden Gafner scored 8 points and Travis McCoy scored 6 points. Reece Rufer pulled down 7 rebounds.

On February 14th the Ponies hosted Argyle and their last game of the regular season will be against Juda at home on Friday, February 17th.