MONTICELLO — One quarter was all that mattered.
Monticello scored 29 fourth-quarter points on the way to beating Star City 57-50 Tuesday, putting some rapid-fire offense in what had been an otherwise sloppy game.
“Darn good fourth quarter,” Monticello Coach Wayne Sherrer said. “I don’t know if it makes up for the first three.”
Sherrer had a point. The Billies (3-0) lurched through the first half, beginning with a 10-2 first-quarter deficit. It wouldn’t be until midway through the fourth quarter that Monticello would take the lead, going up 38-37 on a basket by Torry Butler.
But plenty happened after that, almost all of it via Devon Jackson and Brooks Jones. The two scored a combined 14 points down the stretch, as Star City (0-2) struggled to make field goals.
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“We played very well for three quarters,” Star City Coach Joshua Brown said. “We went into the fourth quarter and we didn’t rotate back a few times. We started giving up layups, and a couple of them hit some big shots. We didn’t find them in transition. We kind of imploded, and that’s my fault. I should have called a time-out to stop the bleeding.”
Instead, the Billies rolled down the stretch, capping the game with a 6-0 run.
Sherrer wished he would have seen more of that earlier on, likening the first three quarters to “pulling teeth.” Monticello primarily ran a full-court offense and looked for shots early, which was fine with Sherrer. The problem was the Billies were constantly having their offensive flow disrupted by bobbled and dropped passes.
“I don’t know if we focused like we should have tonight,” Sherrer said. “Star City played well and I give them a lot of credit. But we have some young guys who I think got caught up in the hoopla for Saturday.”
Saturday is a 5 p.m. game with rival Drew Central.
Jackson led Monticello with 17 points, with 15 from Butler. Jones scored 10 points off the bench. Star City got 16 points from D.J. Pace.
GIRLS
MONTICELLO 53, STAR CITY 39
Monticello stayed unbeaten, giving Star City its first loss of the season in the process.
The Lady Billies (5-0) out-scored Star City 36-21 in the second half.
“I haven’t beaten Star City since I’ve been back,” said Monticello Coach Lucy Williams, who returned to the Lady Billies program five seasons ago after a stint at Crossett. “They’ve always got a good ball club. Their girls always work hard.”
Chelsey Rhodes scored 20 points to lead Monticello, and Erin Campbell came off the bench to score 15. Juquecia Chaney and Lydia Thornton each scored 10 points for Star City.