MONTAGUE — Montague and Hart played a tough, physical game Tuesday night, and fittingly it was offensive rebounding that brought the Wildcats the winning play in a 51-46 victory.
With the game tied at 45 after a Pirates’ three-pointer, Montague grabbed two offensive boards on its next possession and found Cole Herremans, who buried a three-pointer to put his team ahead for good.
The late rebounds were a welcome sight for coach Nick Thaler, who said the team helped allow Hart back into the game in the middle two quarters by not pursuing loose balls well enough.
“I felt like our guys kind of coasted through that first half a little bit,” Thaler said. “We were not going for those 50/50 balls. We were looking at the basketball bounce on the floor rather than going to get it. I felt like they were the aggressor towards those 50/50 balls.”
The Wildcats looked to be comfortably ahead early as Owen Raeth ran the show on offense, making a pair of shots and distributing the ball well. Isaiah Atchison was a defensive force in the first half as well, with several blocked shots. In the second and third quarters, Hart threw some different defensive looks at the Wildcats, who weren’t always successful in adjusting. The two teams traded the lead several times in that span. Kellan Francis scored five straight points to end the first half, including a breakaway layup that barely beat the second-quarter buzzer.
“I was really impressed with Hart and their toughness and their effort tonight,” Thaler said. “Coach (Nick) Bronsema had those kids ready to play, and they played hard. They came out and played a longer zone. Their length, on film, it doesn’t do them justice. They really are a big, long team and that bothered us in the middle frames there.”
Blake Weirich created a lot of the headaches for Montague on the Wildcats’ defensive end; the Pirates’ junior guard had 22 points and 11 assists, hitting several big shots to keep Hart close.
Montague was able to overcome its struggles in large part due to strong contributions throughout the roster. Paul Olson had seven fourth-quarter points to end the night with 12 in all, Raeth had a team-best 13 points despite being in foul trouble much of the game, and Herremans’ winning trey put him in double figures with 10.
Atchison chipped in nine points while fighting through what Thaler called a physical battle for rebounds in the paint.
““The more guys that are scoring, it makes it harder to key on certain guys for us,” Thaler said.
