Berthoud Cheer honors the Seniors at the last home game of the season

Anyone expecting a repeat of the game against Sterling came away disappointed this evening. If 85^th ranked Berthoud could beat eighth ranked Sterling, there was certainly hope they could come out on top of number 14 Longmont. That hope did not last long as the Trojans wasted no time spoiling Berthoud’s Senior recognition night.

Joel Maly takes the tip-off from his 6'5" opponent

Berthoud controlled the tip-off, but that turned out to be the high spot of the game. In a preview of what the night would bring, Longmont quickly got the ball on a turnover and scored a basket in the first 10 seconds. They followed immediately with another and racked up 10 points while holding Berthoud scoreless for the first three minutes. The quarter ended with Berthoud having scored only two baskets.

Longmont has several big men and Berthoud found it nearly impossible to penetrate the defense. Working the ball back and forth and making a great number of passes left the Spartans vulnerable and the quickness of the Trojan squad forced turnovers, most of which turned in to scores for Longmont. The Spartans coughed up the ball 27 times. While many of those turnovers was caused by the aggressiveness of the Trojan defense, some of it was questionable passes that ended up in the hands of the opposition. As in any sport, it is difficult to win when you hand the ball over so many times.

Joel Maly makes it 12-30 in the second quarter. The Trojans gave little opportunity for these shots.

While Berthoud had great difficulty getting to the basket, the Longmont fast break frequently put a man in the open and usually resulted in a score, sometimes with a two handed dunk shot.

Longmont controlled the pace of the game. Berthoud’s possession averaged 25 – 30 seconds as the Spartans worked to get into scoring position finally taking low percentage long shot. Longmont, on the other hand, averaged about 10 to 15 seconds from getting to ball to taking a shot, usually a high percentage lay-up. When Berthoud’s defense stiffened in the second half, Longmont proved adept at making the 3-point shot.

The game was never in doubt as Longmont outscored Berthoud in every quarter. Berthoud finally started hitting in the fourth quarter as Maly forced his way under the basket and the 3-pointers started dropping in. Berthoud doubled its score in the fourth period but was still one point short of Longmont’s fourth quarter tally.

Joel Maly managed to fight his way in to score and led the team with 23 points. However, compared with the previous games, the team totals on nearly every stat except turnovers was way down. Even Maly’s shot attempts and rebound stats are below his normal output.

Make no mistake, Longmont as a very big, very fast and very talented team. Sterling defeated them earlier this year but don’t look for that to happen again. Longmont could very well go all the way if they continue to play like they did tonight.

Record 9-7-0 / League 7-6-0