Story by Kadin Rogers
The Monmouth-Roseville Titans basketball team, fresh off a couple days of rest after a busy December of basketball, participated in their first game of the new year at the Carl Sandburg College shootout on Saturday afternoon, taking on the (4-6) Stanford-Olympia Spartans. After losing two straight to end their time in the Macomb Western Holiday Tournament, the Titans came out hot in this one and bookended it with a strong finish to take a 65-52 win over the Spartans.
Monmouth-Roseville’s dominant first quarter would give them the lead throughout the game, going up 17-2 after the first period of play on the back of 7 points in the quarter from sophomore Lars Bergren and 6 points down low from junior Nick Huston. Olympia’s offense would fair better in the second quarter, cutting the Titans lead to just 8 points heading into the halftime break. Olympia’s leading offensive spark Owen Alford poured in 10 in the quarter while Bergren had an equally strong quarter with Ethan Clark and Clay Casteel both hitting triples to go into the half.
Andy Myers and Cee Sarcomo’s three pointers in the third quarter would help keep Monmouth-Roseville in the lead going into the final quarter, however Alford’s efforts kept the Spartans in the game, trailing just 43-38. With Olympia cutting the lead to just 3 points early in the fourth quarter, Payton Thompson and Lars Bergren would be the main catalyst for a strong finish to the game. Thompson, after not scoring in the first three quarters, rattled off 7 points combining with Bergren’s 10 fourth quarter points to give the Titans their 10th win of the season.
In the stat book for Monmouth-Roseville, Lars Bergren erupted for 27 points, a career high for the sophomore. Nick Huston would add in 9 points while Payton Thompson finished with 7. The weekend win for the Titans improves their record to (10-7), and they will look to continue momentum against an upcoming gauntlet of great opponents. First up will be a road matchup in East Moline on Tuesday against the United Township Panthers.
