Montano, Fenton celebrate big win

Fenton senior Dan Montano could not have asked for a better birthday.

While Bison fans celebrated Montano's 18th birthday, he scored clutch baskets down the stretch and led all scorers with 26 points. Behind Montano's leadership, Fenton held on for a 58-50 win over Lake Park on Monday night.

The Bison's season-opening win came as part of the 25th annual Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament in Bensenville.

"I'm not very tall, so I tried to use my wide body to get into position," Montano said, referencing his ability to get inside the lane and score in the fourth quarter.

Fenton opened up the game with a 14-0 run. The Lancers were forced to call consecutive timeouts before they were finally able to score midway through the first quarter.

"We just came out and pushed the ball to perfection," Montano said.

Fortunately for the Lancers, they were able to get a pair of quick 3-pointers by Dave Prentis and cut the lead to 14-6.

Prentis shot 3-for-6 from 3-point land and finished with 9 points. Along with Prentis' long-range shooting, the Lancers climbed back into the game with Montano on the bench with foul trouble.

"We would have had a chance to maintain that fast start if we didn't struggle with foul issues," said Fenton coach Dennis Cromer. "We had to shuffle our lineup and we lost a little momentum because of that."

Lake Park's Kevin Spejcher nailed a 3-pointer seconds before halftime as the Lancers cut the lead to 5 and trailed 29-24 at the half.

Fenton held off the rallying Lancers as Montano entered the second half with fresh legs. Fenton also was aided by senior Zach Piotrowski's ability to attack the rim and get to the free-throw line.

"I had a lot of time to rest after getting those quick fouls and it helped," Montano said.

The Lancers showed a lot of fight in their valiant comeback effort. Lake Park was finally able to capture the lead with just under seven minutes left in the game after a 3-pointer gave the Lancers a 38-37 advantage.

Lake Park senior Zack Cooper (15 points) used his tremendous length by getting to the rim and making high-percentage shots.

As the Lancers took the lead late, Fenton refused to panic and let Montano take over the game on offense. Montano diced his way into the lane for 2 quick baskets to snatch back the lead.

The Bison sealed the victory after Montano rebounded a Lake Park miss and heaved a perfect outlet pass to teammate Colin Wallace, whose layup gave the Bison a 51-48 lead and Fenton never looked back.

"It's all about (Montano's) leadership," Cromer said.

"He's a three-year starter and he really stepped up and played tough down the stretch."