Robert Sansone’s 23 points helps Montini top IC Prep, claim regional title

LOMBARD – Montini cut the nets down for the fourth straight season following a 64-43 victory over IC Catholic Prep as they claimed another regional championship at its home gym on Friday night in Lombard.

It was never truly in doubt, as a 23-point outburst from Robert Sansone led the Broncos (20-11) on offense and a smothering defensive performance helped bring the game home.

“I’m speechless,” remarked a smiling Sansone, who scored 11 himself in a 21-point first-quarter blitz by the Broncos. “It’s so exciting to do it in front of my parents.”

While he missed his first shot of the night, Sansone quickly made his presence felt, adding a pair of quick midrange jumpers as Montini took a 12-5 lead midway through the opening eight minutes.

“I kind of knew by my second shot,” said Sansone with a smirk. “I took the first jump shot, it didn’t go and I took a second one that went in, and then the third one went … I knew I was gonna have a game.”

The junior guard put the student section into a frenzy with a long three-pointer with 2:50 to play in that electric opening quarter to give his team their first double digit lead of the game at 15-5.

They would not lead by less than 10 the rest of the way.

Both Sansone and his coach emphasized the culture that the team has built and the connected family mentality that has helped pave the way for consistent success their program has experienced.

“This is the first year that I felt like my fingerprints were felt on this team,” added Montini coach Adam DeMong, who is in his fifth season as head coach. “It’s just guys that believed in what we were doing and workouts in the summer and wanted to play a way that was caring about each other and being connected.”

That connection was evident on the defensive end of the court, as the Broncos’ 2-3 zone gave the Knights fits all game long.

IC (25-8) standout Andrew Hill scored 31 points; however, the rest of his squad could only muster 12 by guards Makai Mandley, Jordan Hall, and Danny Fromelt.

“Our scouting report was, ‘All right, let’s make sure we minimize or limit [Hill]’,” DeMong said. “But like, he’s gonna score. Our plan was more to make sure that nobody else joined him in that scoring.”

Montini was able to rely on the size of their frontcourt with junior big men Angelo DeSensi and Colt Ashton preventing IC ball handlers from slashing to the rim, forcing Hill and the Knights to settle for outside shots that simply were not falling often enough to keep pace.

“I think we did a really good job,” DeMong said. “I said, he can have 30 points and we can still win by a lot. I said that in the pregame and that’s exactly what happened.”

DeSensi played a pivotal role in keeping Hill outside and not allowing the 6-foot-6 senior to set up in the paint.

“It means a lot to me to go back to back [in the regional round],” said DeSensi, a second-year Bronco. “We still got more, we still got sectional, then state, hopefully.”

Montini will be heading to Christ the King High School in Chicago to play Clark at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We’ve lost in this game, the sectional semifinal, the last three years, and I think we’re tired of that,” said a determined DeMong. “So we’re ready to do more, but we’re gonna play great opponents every night, so we’re just ready to play our best and see what comes.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250228/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-sansones-hot-shooting-helps-montini-down-ic-catholic-in-regional-final/