LocalSportsJournal.com
MONTAGUE – A strong start to each half proved to be the difference for Montague as they closed out Shelby 50-43 on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats got out to an 18-8 lead in the first quarter, capitalizing off turnovers by Shelby. The Tigers’ ball handling mishaps were compounded by missed shots on offense to put them in an early hole, though they did outscore Montague 10-8 in the second quarter to trail 22-17 at half.
The start to the second half for Montague wasn’t quite as strong as the first, but a 12-9 advantage in that quarter helped keep Shelby an arm’s length away. The Tigers attempted to draw closer in the fourth, outscoring the Wildcats 16-12, but weren’t able to make things more interesting than that.
“Solid defensive effort by all the guys,” Shelby head coach Rick Zoulek said. “We must take better care of the ball to be able to win these closer contests. Montague had 15 more shots than us because we had 11 more turnovers than they did. We outrebounded them 22-20.”
Montague was led by Owen Raeth with 18 points while Isaiah Atchison came in right behind with 16 points. Kellen Francis added 10 points.
Phillip Hayes was Shelby’s top performer, scoring 15 points. Wyatt Dickman added 14 points while Lalo Garcia had six points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Shelby (3-12, 1-6 WMC Rivers) will look to get back in the win column as they take on conference opponent Ravenna on Thursday.
Montague (11-6, 4-4 WMC Lakes) have won six of their last seven and will hope that trend continues when they take on undefeated Whitehall on Thursday.
