Meteor point guard Erik Burgh (22) ran the offense during most of Montrose game against Holy Cross on Thursday night. PHOTO BY HEIDI ZENEFSKI
BY HEIDI ZENEFSKI
Sports Correspondent
Basketball games can be won or lost on foul shots, clearly evident in the Montrose loss to Holy Cross at home on Thursday.
Holy Cross (third place in Division III, 10-4 overall) always has a good team comprised of players from throughout the area that put up a tough fight every time they step on the court.
And a fight it was when the Crusaders invaded Montrose. The Meteors defended their home court and gave the Crusaders a run for their money in a non-division cross-over game.
The first quarter had the Crusaders ahead of Montrose, but not by much. Cameron Dean and Brenton Warner each scored four points for Montrose, but were outscored by three, leaving the score 11-8 at the end of the period.
The second quarter belonged to the Meteors who lost the field goal battle with only two made, but were kept in the game with Cameron Dean’s foul shooting. Dean went six for eight from the charity stripe keeping Montrose competitive up to the halftime buzzer, outscoring their opponents 10-9 in the quarter to end the half at a 20-18 deficit.
Excitement grew in the third quarter with Montrose matching the Crusaders point for point.
Dean and Justin Richel each scored two points, Erik Burgh scored four, and Warner added seven. With 1:46 left in the period, the score was tied at 31.
With the clock running down quickly, the Meteors scored one more basket and the Crusaders answered with two of their own to keep a two point lead, 35-33, at the end of the third.
The Meteors found themselves in serious foul trouble in the final quarter and into a double bonus with 11 team fouls in the second half of the game – fouls made to stop the clock to keep the Crusaders from scoring.
Holy Cross took advantage of their 14 shots from the line, netting 79 percent and adding 11 points to the board.
Away from the foul line, the Crusaders were only able to score eight points in the quarter.
On the other end of the court, Montrose’s Troy Ely, Jack Fruehan, Erik Burgh, and Dean each scored baskets for the Meteors, keeping pace with Holy Cross apart from the foul shots. Burgh also put up a 3-pointer.
In all the Crusaders made 17 points on foul shots throughout the game, shooting 74 percent from the line for the game. Montrose sank 11 of 16 from the line for 69 percent.
What difference did those foul shots make?
Montrose scored 15 points in the 4th quarter; Holy Cross posted 21 with 11 coming from the foul line – bringing a 56-48 end to the game.
The high scorer for Montrose was Dean with 18 points, followed by Warner with 13 and Burgh with 11.
Connor Callejas was the high scorer for Holy Cross with 16 points, followed by Connor Jones with 13 and Rob Torre with 12.
JV Score: Holy Cross 60, Montrose 40
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