Ponies Trample Panthers
Zephyrs Derail Ponies Perfect Season
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Sue Moen
Peter Gustafson had 29 points for the Ponies in the game against Benton, and 10 points in the game against Juda.
On February 3rd, the Monticello Ponies suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Benton Zephyrs. Early in the game, senior Reece Rufer left the game due to an injury and was unable to return. The Ponies only held the lead twice in the first half, struggling to keep up with Benton's scoring. After trailing at the half by only 5 points, the Ponies lost the game 64-73.
"We suffered our first loss of the season to Benton. Playing without Reece Rufer, we found ourselves down 17 at one point in the second half, but were able to come back and pull even with around 6 minutes to go. However, Benton did a good job of making their free throws and we had a couple of good shots rattle out, and we weren't able to get over the hump," explained Coach Mark Olson. "We weren't as sound defensively as we needed to be early in the game and made it difficult on ourselves to come back."
Peter Gustafson poured in 29 points for the Ponies, while Rudy Wicker scored 9 points and had 7 rebounds, Simon Blohowiak scored 8 points, and Tristin Flanagan and Owen Ace had 7 and 6 rebounds, respectively.
On February 6th, the Ponies played at Juda. With a commanding 30-13 lead at the half, the Ponies trampled the Panthers in the second half on their way to a 58-28 victory.
"We rebounded at Juda, where we won," said Coach Olson. "I thought we did a nice job of staying patient and attacking Juda's zone in an efficient and aggressive manner."
Leading the Ponies with 20 points and 7 rebounds was Rudy Wicker, while Peter Gustafson scored 10 points and Owen Ace put 9 points on the board. Simon Blohowiak had 6 rebounds and Tristin Flanagan and Owen Ace each had 5 rebounds.
On February 10th, the Ponies hosted the undefeated Palmyra-Eagle team, and will play at Albany on February 14th before returning to their home gym on February 20th to face Black Hawk. As of February 4th, they are still ranked 4th in Division 5 in the wissports.net coaches poll and 6th in the AP poll. The Ponies are undefeated, 9-0, in the Six Rivers East and 17-1 overall.