Facing a rare halftime deficit, Class 5A No. 1 Montour rallies past Mars
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Tuesday, January 28, 2025 | 10:50 PM
Trailing by eight points at halftime, Class 5A No. 1 Montour went on a second-half scoring spree to defeat Mars, 68-55, on Tuesday night.
The Spartans used a 45-24 advantage in the second half to turn a 31-23 deficit into a win.
The Fightin’ Planets contained the Spartans in the first half, but Montour brought the energy after the break.
The Spartans, led by Colton Straight and Ama Tening Sow, went on an 11-0 run.
The run was capped off with a coast-to-coast play by Sow in which he went behind the back, slipped between two defenders and finished it with a two-handed slam.
Montour outscored Mars 24-9 in the third quarter, giving the Spartans a 47-40 lead going into the fourth.
Montour pulled away from there.
The Spartans were led by Sow, who posted 22 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.
“He changes the game,” Montour coach Bill Minear said. “When he’s engaged, he can really dominate. He’s a Division I player. That’s what they do.”
Kaleb Platz, who tallied 17 points, commented on Sow’s display.
“It’s what he does every night,” Platz said. “It’s a pretty usual night. I feel like it was not as much as he normally has. He’s crazy dominant, and it’s just what he does every game.”
Sow talked about his dunk that electrified the crowd.
“At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about how nice the play was,” Sow said. “All I wanted was to dominate, win and get a W. I got a steal and I see the two defenders coming. I went behind the back. I see another one coming. I did the move I usually do and then just dunked it.”
Minear said that he knew Mars would give the Spartans a tough game. Mars won three and a row heading into the game, including a victory over South Fayette.
“I think we needed to be reminded how hard we have to play to be who we are at halftime, so we went with the press to try to get more motion with more movement and more intensity,” Minear said. “Ama and Kaleb both did a real good job anticipating where Mars was going with the ball. We were able to get some fast breaks. Then we had a really good trap on the side. Ama then got that dunk, and it got the crowd in the game.”
The Fightin’ Planets doubled down on Sow and neutralized the Spartans offense in the first half.
Mars held a 13-11 lead after the first quarter and extend its lead in the second, outscoring Montour 20-10.
Mars was led by Austin Campbell, who scored 18 points, and Austin Wroblewski, who notched 16.
Nonetheless, the Spartans rallied, scoring 45 points in the second half. Colton Straight tallied 19 points, while Platz scored 17.
“We had a slow start, so we just tried to get some points on the board quick,” Platz said. “We tried to get some steals to get some movement, have them throw the ball around, getting them out of their rhythm and out of their half-court set. … We got the steals, got some points and made the 3s.”
Platz racked up 12 points in the second half. Platz said he used his body and strength and drove to the basket to get those points.
“We went into the locker room, talked as a team,” Sow said. “The coaches told us that we’ve got to be patient, we have to run our plays, and we have to play good defense. We all came out there and picked it up.”
The Spartans’ all-senior lineup, including Trey Hopper and AJ Alston, pushed the Spartans to 10-0 in the section.
“I think our team this year is really, really good,” Sow said. “Our team, they are not just basketball players, but they come out here during basketball season and work really hard, play really hard, and I’m so thankful for that because I’m a basketball player. I don’t play another sport, but they do other sports. During basketball season, they all focus, help the team do whatever they’ve got to do, so I’m so thankful to have them as teammates.”
Platz said the win was a testament to the team.
“We needed that,” Platz said. “We haven’t been down pretty much all year. I can’t remember the last time we’ve been down in a game, so it’s definitely good getting a little bit adversity, having to come back to our roots and play our basketball.”
Minear was proud of the Spartans and how the team made history.
“We clinched a tie tonight, and this is the first time in Montour history with back-to-back section champs,” Minear said. “We made history tonight, which is cool. It was just fun. I mean, hopefully it gives us confidence, and hopefully it teaches us a lesson with how the first half went.”
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