In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, the Monticello Sages used a big second half to rally past Paxton-Buckley-Loda 59-43 in Illini Prairie Conference boy's basketball action from the Sievers Center at Monticello High School, bringing Coach Kevin Roy to career win 299. 

All of Coach Roy's wins have come at Monticello High School where he started in 2006-07. 

The Panthers jumped out to a 16-5 lead with 6:29 to play in the second half but the Sages finished the half on a 16-7 run to pull within 23-21 deficit at the intermission. 

After a back-and-forth start to the second half, a Trevor Fox basket with 5:29 to play in the third tied the game at 29, Monticello finished the quarter outscoring PBL 11-4 to take a 40-33 lead to the fourth. 

Mason Bruns opened the fourth quarter with a layup to make 40-35 but Monticello answered with an 11-0 run over three minutes to open it up to a 51-35 lead and maintained the rest of the way. 

Fox scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and took a trio of offensive fouls. He also added seven assists. Joey Sprinkle scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half. Ben Cresap finished with 12 points. 

Sprinkle was the Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game. 

After going 9-for-25 from the floor in the first half, the Sages went 17-for-22 from the floor in the second half. 

Monticello finished with 42 points in the paint, 30 of those in the second half. Additionally, the Sages added 26 points off 25 PBL turnovers. They had ten second-half assists to six turnovers and finished 17 assists on 26 baskets with 13 turnovers. Coming into Friday night's game, Monticello's assist-to-turnover ratio was nearly 2-to-1.

The Panthers took just 14 shots in the second half and finished shooting 47-percent for the game. 

PBL drops to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

The Sages won its sixth in a row and moved 20-1 overall and went to 4-0 in conference play.

The Sages have a chance to earn career win 300 for Coach Roy tomorrow night when they host the seventh-ranked Meridian Hawks in non-conference action at the Sievers Center.