Mountaineers drop Mustangs

Madison County continued its assault on the Jefferson District on Saturday night, defeating Monticello 63-51. The Mountaineers are now 8-0 on the young season and 4-0 against JD teams, after previously knocking off William Monroe (twice) and Orange County.

“I think it was important for our kids to come into this type of environment and play a big, physical, athletic team, and that’s why we scheduled it,” said Mountaineers coach Tim Taylor, who compared star forward Logan Terrell’s play to that of former NBA rebounding machine Dennis Rodman. “We’ve got aspirations of being a playoff contender, and that’s why we picked to play the AA teams this year.”

Terrell, who finished with a game-high 27 points, led Madison with his aggressive inside play. Terrell had 15 at halftime, as the two teams were tied at 26 apiece.

“This was really a statement game for us,” Terrell said of his dominant performance. “We came here and showed everybody what we’re about, and we had a lot to prove. We just played really well together.”

Monticello’s backcourt of Hines Banks and Mark Brady paced the Mustangs in the first half, as the duo combined for 22 of the team’s 26 first-half points, but Taylor made some adjustments at the break that paid dividends for his squad for the remainder of the contest.

“We went to a triangle-and-two in that third quarter,” Taylor said. “It’s a compliment to our kids because we hadn’t practiced that — we just went to it and made the adjustment.”

Monticello came out a bit flat in the third quarter, and the Mountaineers took advantage, going on a 13-0 run to take a 44-30 lead.

Madison held Monticello to just one field goal throughout the first 7:30 of the third quarter before Banks and freshman Kevin Archer combined for five points to end the period, but the Mustangs still trailed by double digits.

Mustangs coach Kareem Martin knows his team needs to be more patient on the offensive end, and hopes that in time, his team will again compete for a district crown.

“You can’t beat anybody if you can’t make easy layups,” admitted Martin. We just haven’t gotten into basketball shape — we’ve got a ways to go. Right now we aren’t playing together, but I’ll take losses in December as long as we’re winning in January and February.”

Madison’s Sam Utz stepped up for Taylor, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Banks led the Mustangs with 15 points, and Brady added 14. Sam Roller finished with nine.

Up next for Madison County will be another matchup against a Jefferson District opponent as the Mountaineers travel to Fluvanna County on Tuesday. Monticello, which got another late start on the basketball season after the football playoffs, hopes to continue to improve, as they will host Albemarle on Monday at 7:30.