MONTAGUE — It doesn’t take long to see one major difference in the Montague boys basketball team with Nick Thaler at the helm; the Wildcats are going to run.
Deploying a fast-paced attack that was sparked by strong defense, the Wildcats built a big first-half lead and never looked back against Newaygo Tuesday night, securing a 68-48 victory.
“We played an outstanding first half, I thought, offensively and defensively, with guys flying around,” Thaler said. “At Grand Haven (where Thaler was an assistant boys coach), we had athletes, and we liked to play and get up and down the floor and play good defense. And I saw the guys here, and I felt like we can do that here. It’s just going to take time to get it right.”
It certainly looked right for much of Tuesday’s game, particularly in the second quarter, which saw the Wildcats (2-1) rip off 19 points, including three three-pointers, to take a 38-22 halftime edge. Using imposing post defense by Isaiah Atchison and Paul Olson, Montague was able to get out in transition after rebounds several times, and that created open shots for the likes of Owen Raeth and Kellan Francis, who combined for 13 points in the quarter.
“I tell these guys within the offense we run, you’re going to get looks at the basket and you’re going to get open shots,” Thaler said. “It makes us more dangerous if we’re knocking down shots, because it opens more lanes and avenues for us to go to the basket or get to the foul line.”
It stands to reason that high school kids don’t often need to be convinced to play a freewheeling, high-speed style, and Olson, who led four Wildcats in double figures with 17 points, certainly approves.
“I enjoy that way more than slowing down and setting up our offense,” Olson said of getting out and running. “It allows all of us to play more freely and just do our own thing.”
The fun continued in the third; while Newaygo was able to get some of its own scoring, it didn’t make a dent in the Wildcat lead, and Montague led 55-39 when the final eight minutes began. Raeth provided one of the highlights by drilling a three while being fouled and converting the four-point play.
Thaler was pleased with the way his team set a tone with strong defense early. Certainly Atchison had a big part of that with his shot-blocking ability - he swatted a few attempts away for the game - but Montague also played hard-nosed defense on the perimeter, rarely making life easy for the Lions.
“These guys are just scratching the surface of what we’re trying to do,” Thaler said. “We haven’t had a lot of time together. (It’s been) pretty much since Nov. 13 that we were starting stuff. You can kind of see it coming together.
“We’re not going to lock down teams where they’re getting zeroes for quarters, but it’s going to take you a long possession to score, and our guys are going to work hard for whatever the time frame is that possession.”
Atchison had 15 points, with Raeth scoring 13 and Francis 11 to round out the four double-digit scorers. Caris Nelson paced the Lions with 13 points.
Montague’s JV squad fell to Newaygo Tuesday, 49-40, despite 11 points by Mason Darke.
