Monticello boys edge Western to move into second in JD

Hampered with foul trouble, Monticello’s Jhalil Mosley found himself on the bench for the majority of the first half and numerous times during the second half, yet with three minutes left in the fourth quarter with the game tied, the ball was in his hands. And he delivered.

Showing no rust from his lack of court time, Mosley sank a 3-pointer to give the Monticello boys basketball team a 53-50 lead, which eventually led to the 62-55 win over Western Albemarle Friday night in a hostile Mustang atmosphere. 

The win was the seventh in a row, for the Mustangs, who now find themselves alone in second place in the Jefferson District after starting 1-2 in district play. 

“This is a testament to how hard these guys have worked,” Monticello coach Robert Shelton said. “It all starts in practice and it’s all about toughness and I think over time they’ve gelled as a unit.”

In a game of contrasting styles, Monticello (13-7,7-2) set the tempo early by playing the game at a high level and running the court. The Mustangs jumped out to a 17-11 lead after one quarter but Mosley and Sam Patterson got in foul trouble, which allowed the Warriors to creep back in the game. 

“We’ve established some guys coming off of the bench,” Shelton said. “We are a deeper team now, which helped us out tonight.”

Western Albemarle (13-8, 6-3) established its game inside with Patterson on the bench and went into the locker room down just one point, 31-30. The Warriors took their first lead of the game early in the third quarter at 38-36 before the Mustangs used a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 42-38, which then grew to 46-40. 

A pair of 3-pointers by Western tied the game at 50-50 before Mosley gave the lead back to the Mustangs with his big shot. Mosley’s 3-pointer then led to a Patterson basket plus the foul, putting the game out of reach.  

Denzel Terry led the way scoring a game-high 20 points for the Mustangs while adding three rebounds and three assists. 

“Denzel kept us together throughout this entire game,” Shelton said. “He was one of the guys that stayed afloat and didn’t get in foul trouble and hit key shots for us while playing great defense.”

Mosley finished the game with 13 points and four rebounds while Patterson put in 14 points and pulled down six rebounds. 

The Warriors were led by sophomore Charles Stokes, who scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Senior Ben Turner added 12 points while Parker Morris scored 13 points but struggled from beyond the arc in the second half. 

Monticello closes out the regular season when it hosts Charlottesville on Tuesday. A win would lock up the No. 2 seed in next week’s Jefferson District tournament. Western Albemarle finishes up its schedule by hosting Powhatan on Tuesday. A Monticello loss and Warrior win would give Western Albemarle the No. 2 seed. 

Like us on Facebook. Search for Daily Progress PrepsPlus.