Montague boys basketball fades after solid start, loses to Fremont

FREMONT — Montague got off to a great start in Friday's West Michigan Conference Lakes game against Fremont, dominating the offensive glass and playing tougher en route to a six-point second-quarter lead. After that, though, it was all Fremont; the Packers took over the game, finishing the quarter on a 21-4 run and rolling to a 71-40 win.

Wildcats coach Nick Thaler was frustrated after the game that his team did not take advantage of the good early start - Montague led 19-13 at one point - and instead seemed to play with low energy as the game wore on.

"I thought they played with a lot more energy and intensity," Thaler said of Fremont. "They were just tougher than us. I thought that they just wanted it more than our guys did. That effort clearly showed in the game.

"Credit to them for playing hard and having that intensity. They earned this win tonight and they should be excited."

Redick Powell spearheaded the Fremont explosion, drilling three of the five three-pointers his team hit in the second quarter to turn the tide of the game. He hit five treys in all and led all scorers with 27 points - 16 in the first half.

Montague made a brief push back in the third quarter when Jack Degen hit a three-pointer and Kellan Francis knocked down a free throw to get the lead back down to nine points at 40-31. But Fremont ripped off the next eight points and Montague only scored nine more the rest of the night.

"We just get too comfortable," Thaler said. "In basketball, you can't be comfortable. You've got to have a chip on your shoulder. You've got to play with some grit. You've got to play with some intensity. If you don't do that, especially at the varsity level, you're going to see scores like this."

Thaler said he and his staff are constantly coaching high energy play, but added his belief that at the high school level, such things shouldn't need to be coached.

"You should be giving your best effort and putting forth your best effort, not only for yourself, or for your teammates, but for the people that support you, that want to see you succeed," Thaler said. "That's something we've got to get better at. We've got to get better at working together and being together as a team. For these guys that are seniors, one-fourth of the season is already gone. I know they're not satisfied with what their production is right now."

Despite the frustrations of the first few weeks, the Wildcats are still convinced they have it in them to deliver the results they want. They will have a couple of weeks' break to regroup before another difficult game Jan. 3 against North Muskegon.

"I still think that we're a good team and a competitive team," Thaler said. "Once we start believing in that, I think that the results will change, but we've got to put forth more of an effort. These scores that are getting like this, it's just effort. That's all."

Francis led Montague with nine points, and Cole Herremans added eight.