Monticello boys suffer second-round loss at state, rally to finish eighth

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello boy's basketball team finished eighth at the 1A Utah State Basketball Tournament this past week in Richfield.
The Buckaroos went 2-2 at the tournament to finish in the top eight in the state.
The #11 seed Monticello Buckaroos opened the weekend with a second-round loss to the #6 Valley Buffalos on Wednesday, March 1.
The Buckaroos had a near-perfect first quarter building a 19-6 lead, but Valley started mounting a comeback making the score 22-12 at halftime.
After three quarters Valley narrowed the gap to 27-23. In the final frame, the scoring for both teams picked up with Valley pulling ahead for a 45-41 victory.
Monticello was led in scoring by Easton Young who scored 21 points. Landon Ewart scored ten points with Tommy Sheeran scoring six points. Curtis Bunker and Donovan Atwood each had two points.
After dropping their first game Monticello bounced back on Thursday, March 2 getting an exciting win over Water Canyon. The Wildcats built a 12-11 lead over Monticello in the first quarter. Monticello took the lead at halftime 22-18. Water Canyon came back at the end of the third quarter to retake a 31-28 lead while Easton Young sat much of the second half in foul trouble.
With three minutes to go in the game Water Canyon held a 36-30 lead. Sheeran drew a foul and hit two free throws to make the score 36-32. After a defensive stop for Monticello, Young raced down the court and put in a floater to make the score 36-34.
The Buckaroos once again stopped the Wildcats and after an empty offensive trip for Monticello, they again held Water Canyon scoreless. With  55 seconds remaining, MHS coach Josh Keyes called a timeout to draw up a play.
JD McDonald brought the ball up out of the timeout and found Young who had sprinted for the far corner. Young pulled up from the corner to hit a three and give Monticello a 37-36 lead.
Speaking after the game Young said his thought on the court was that he wanted to play at least one more day at the tournament. “It’s a shot I’ve hit before but never this nervous. I obviously came off the bench and I wasn’t super ready but I hit it, that’s what matters.”
The Buckaroo defense again held Water Canyon scoreless in their final possessions to earn a 37-36 victory.
Following the tight win Landon Ewart said despite not playing the greatest game the Bucks did play as a team. “Towards the end we started playing a little bit better. That’s how we got the job done, playing as a team during the end when it really mattered.”
Young led MHS scoring again with 14 points, Atwood scored eight, Sheeran seven, Ewart four and McDonald and Bunker each had two points.
On Friday, March 3 the Buckaroos faced Region 23 foe Pinnacle Canyon. The Bucks and Panthers had split the region title with each team winning games on their home courts in the regular season. The consolation semifinal acted not only as a shot to play on the last day of the tournament but also a de-facto region championship rubber match.
Pinnacle built an 8-7 lead after one quarter and extended it to 19-13 at halftime. Monticello came back in the third quarter closing the gap but still trailed 35-32 after three quarters. The Buckaroos outscored the Panthers 14-9 in the fourth for a 46-44 victory.
Young led the Buckaroos with 15 points in the game with Atwood scoring 12, Sheeran nine, McDonald eight, and Bunker two points.
Down the stretch Coach Keyes said the play of the game was Sheeran drawing a charge with 53 seconds remaining and Pinnacle trailing by one possession.
Sheeran said Coach Keyes gave extra motivation for the senior to draw a charge. “In the timeout [he] said, ‘if you get a charge, I’ll buy Wingers for you tonight.’ I think that really motivated me and I stepped in front and took a body.”
Atwood shared after the game that their focus was making it to the last day of the state tournament. “We just wanted it way more than the last time we played them. We wanted to beat them.”
The Buckaroos faced Bryce Valley in the sixth-place game on Saturday, March 4. The Mustangs had beaten MHS by 22 points in December. This time, Monticello tied the game 32-32 with three minutes remaining before Bryce Valley pulled away in the final two minutes to earn a 41-34 victory.
Monticello was led in scoring on the game by Ewart who finished with ten points, Young with nine, Sheeran with eight, Atwood with four, and McDonald with three.
Coach Keyes had high praise for his five seniors, Landon Ewart, Easton Young, Donovan Atwood, Tommy Sheeran, and Sam Snyder. “That group blossomed into great kids. They’re better human beings,” he said.
“Four days in the hotel haven’t had to worry about a thing. They do their business, they’re mature, they’re respectful, they’re kind. You don’t ever see them yelling at officials. I can’t say enough about who they are as human beings.”
Keyes also thanked fans and family for their support. “It means so much to have good people in your corner and we’ve got that in Monticello.”
The Buckaroos finished the season with a record of 13-11, a region championship, and eighth at the state tournament.