In a game heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, the Monticello Sages overcame a slow night from its two leading scorers and used balanced scoring to beat Bloomington Central Catholic High School 65-54 in Illini Prairie Conference high school boy's basketball action from BCC High School Friday.

The Saints defense held Sages leading scorer Ben Cresap to just five points through three quarters, in fact, Cresap's only five points were scored in the first quarter until he scored seven points in the final frame. 

Tanner Buehnerkemper (bunny-kemp-er) scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the second half and was the Piatt/DeWitt County ServPro Player of the Game.

Cresap finished with 12 points, Dylan Ginalick added 11 points and Triston Foran scored ten points off the bench. Foran hit two three's to open the second quarter helping Monticello to a 29-24 advantage at halftime.

Buehnerkemper scored the first five points of the third quarter as Monticello opened up a 34-24 lead and BCC would not get any closer than four the rest of the way. 

The Sages went 5-for-10 from distance in the first half but only went 1-for-5 in the second half. They shot 53-percent for the game and went 10-for-13 at the free throw line.

Chase Fisher scored 22 points to lead all scorers for BCC. Cole Certa scored 13 points, all in the second half for the Saints. Colin Hayes added 12 points all in the second half.

The Sages were outrebounded 24-22 and shot 51-percent for the game. 

Monticello had just nine assists on its 24 field goals, however, they only turned the ball over four times on the night. 

Monticello scored 14 points off 11 BCC turnovers and added 36 points in the paint. 

The Saints drop to 7-10 overall and 0-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference. 

The Sages continue to roll this season and improve to 18-1 overall and 2-0 in the Illini Prairie, winning its fourth in a row. 

They'll travel to Olympia next Tuesday night. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. Tip time is 7 pm.