Montrose boys basketball moves to 18-0 with win over Fruita Monument

Montrose boys basketball remains perfect

Third ranked Montrose faced Fruita Monument last night, Feb. 1. The Wildcats gave Montrose a tough game the last time they faced off, with Montrose winning, 52-48.

The game was close in the first quarter, with Montrose building leads of 12-4 and 16-8. The Wildcats then scored the last five points of the quarter to make it 16-13 after the first quarter.

They scored the first two to start the second to make it 16-15. The Wildcats would not go away, hoping to upset the third ranked squad. The score went 28-23 in favor of Montrose at halftime.

Montrose senior Fletcher Cheezum scored the first five of the second half, and it was quickly 33-23. They continued to build their lead, as it went to 48-36 after three quarters. For part of the fourth, the Wildcats stayed around 14 points behind, but did not get any closer as Montrose won 63-48.

“Trey and Luke played great tonight, and I think we found some things we need to work on in practice,” Montrose senior Ashden Oberg said. “We still have a long way to go to be the best team we can be, but we are going the right direction.”

“I thought we didn’t play well defensively,” Cheezum added. “We have to be better at that and we will get better. Luke and Trey had great games and carried us offensively, but now what matters is we are 18-0 so we have to keep it going.”

Montrose senior Luke Hutto had 24 points, while fellow senior Trey Reese had 18 and Cheezum added nine.

For Fruita Monument, sophomore Austin Reed had 16 points while senior Joel Lively had nine.

Montrose (18-0, 5-0) will be at home against Eagle Valley, Feb. 6. The Wildcats (7-10, 1-3) will play Grand Junction Central, Feb. 4.