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Montrose led from start to finish against Lakeland to capture a 62-39 win in the special playoff game that determined the Lackawanna League D-III first half basketball champion.
A few nights earlier, the Chiefs (5-1 D-III, 9-7 overall) had jumped to a 14-5 first period lead to hand the Meteors (5-1, 11-3 overall) their first loss in a 58-50 battle to force the playoff game but in the title contest, Montrose hit on all cylinders.
On defense, Montrose forced turnovers early to jump out to an 8-0 margin just 2:10 into the game.
On the boards, Montrose turned the tables from their previous meeting. The Meteors controlled the boards for most of the contest getting numerous second chances on the offensive glass and limiting the Chiefs to one shot.
On offense, a solid shooting performance, aided by the Meteors ability to handle Lakeland’s press late in the game, resulted in put-the-game away lay-ups en route to a 24-36 shooting effort from the field.
The Chiefs, who rode a four game winning streak to force a playoff game showdown, climbed back into the game after trailing 8-0 when a Kyle Kiehart steal and score, an Eric Grabowksi trey and Tyler Brady score sliced the gap to 11-9 at the 3:06 mark.
Montrose 6-3 sophomore center, Cameron Dean and Kiehart exchanged a pair of baskets each over the next 2:13 before Kiehart drained one of two free throws to close the deficit to 15-14 with :34 left in the period.
The Chiefs would never get closer.
A Montrose 7-0 runoff the start the second period pushed the lead to 22-14 before Brady’s deuce and Kiehart’s four free throws narrowed the spread to 22-20 at the 3:50 mark of the first half.
Montrose, keyed by Colby Major’s back-to-back deuce and trey, went on a 10-2 run to close the half at 32-22 as Kolby Clauss-Walton had the Chiefs lone bucket in that span.
Trailing 35-24 1:19 into the second half, Lakeland’s Eric Grabowski ignited the Chiefs’ final effort to catch the Meteors. Grabowski buried a trey at the 6:41 mark then produced a steal and assist to JJ Rojenches to punctuate a 5-0 spurt in :37 to slice the gap to 35-29.
While the Chiefs missed their next four shots, Dean and Tom Lewis hit back-to-back baskets while Jordan Smith buried a trey to end the period and offset a Kiehart deuce for a 42-31 Montrose cushion.
After two turnovers and three missed field goals for the Chiefs to start the fourth period and the Montrose lead increasing to 45-31 with 4:46 left, Lakeland went to full-court pressure. The Meteors took care of the ball the rest of the way resulting in a number of lay-ups for a six-for-seven stretch from the field en route to 17-8 run the rest of the game.
Montrose led from start to finish against Lakeland to capture a 62-39 win in the special playoff game that determined the Lackawanna League D-III first half basketball champion.
A few nights earlier, the Chiefs (5-1 D-III, 9-7 overall) had jumped to a 14-5 first period lead to hand the Meteors (5-1, 11-3 overall) their first loss in a 58-50 battle to force the playoff game but in the title contest, Montrose hit on all cylinders.
On defense, Montrose forced turnovers early to jump out to an 8-0 margin just 2:10 into the game.
On the boards, Montrose turned the tables from their previous meeting. The Meteors controlled the boards for most of the contest getting numerous second chances on the offensive glass and limiting the Chiefs to one shot.
On offense, a solid shooting performance, aided by the Meteors ability to handle Lakeland’s press late in the game, resulted in put-the-game away lay-ups en route to a 24-36 shooting effort from the field.
The Chiefs, who rode a four game winning streak to force a playoff game showdown, climbed back into the game after trailing 8-0 when a Kyle Kiehart steal and score, an Eric Grabowksi trey and Tyler Brady score sliced the gap to 11-9 at the 3:06 mark.
Montrose 6-3 sophomore center, Cameron Dean and Kiehart exchanged a pair of baskets each over the next 2:13 before Kiehart drained one of two free throws to close the deficit to 15-14 with :34 left in the period.
The Chiefs would never get closer.
A Montrose 7-0 runoff the start the second period pushed the lead to 22-14 before Brady’s deuce and Kiehart’s four free throws narrowed the spread to 22-20 at the 3:50 mark of the first half.
Montrose, keyed by Colby Major’s back-to-back deuce and trey, went on a 10-2 run to close the half at 32-22 as Kolby Clauss-Walton had the Chiefs lone bucket in that span.
Trailing 35-24 1:19 into the second half, Lakeland’s Eric Grabowski ignited the Chiefs’ final effort to catch the Meteors. Grabowski buried a trey at the 6:41 mark then produced a steal and assist to JJ Rojenches to punctuate a 5-0 spurt in :37 to slice the gap to 35-29.
While the Chiefs missed their next four shots, Dean and Tom Lewis hit back-to-back baskets while Jordan Smith buried a trey to end the period and offset a Kiehart deuce for a 42-31 Montrose cushion.
After two turnovers and three missed field goals for the Chiefs to start the fourth period and the Montrose lead increasing to 45-31 with 4:46 left, Lakeland went to full-court pressure. The Meteors took care of the ball the rest of the way resulting in a number of lay-ups for a six-for-seven stretch from the field en route to 17-8 run the rest of the game.
