MONROE - Sometimes the shots just don't fall. Sometimes it's because of great defense, and other times it's because shooters go as cold as the sub-zero temperatures outside.
For the Cheesemakers Tuesday, it was a little bit of Column A, and a little bit of Column B as the ball simply struggled to find its way into the net at times for the home team, leading to Dodgeville's 64-62 win in a nonconference game.
"The biggest thing is guys who usually make shots for us weren't making shots for us tonight," Monroe head coach Brian Bassett said. "We missed I don't know how many bunnies tonight. Then they would have some kid that looked like he was on the JV team come down and hit a 3-point shot."
Brayden Zettle scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and Kade King scored 10 of his 14 in the second, but that was simply not good enough.
The Cheesemakers started the night trying to find their groove. All five starters split the first five baskets, but the two teams remained knotted up at 11-11 six minutes into the contest.
Enter substitute Max Lange.
"He was really good getting to the ball tonight," Bassett said of his 6-4 junior. "He was really aggressive and did a great job of attacking on offense - getting those offensive rebounds and up at the high post."
Lange made an instant impact. First he scored on a tip-in putback at the 11:09 mark in the first half, then he followed it up by another putback on an offensive rebound and an And-1 in the paint, all on consecutive possessions. The six-point burst put the Cheesemakers ahead 17-15 with 9:43 to play in the half.
Not long after, senior Hunter Ward got in on the action, scoring thrice on a layup in transition, nailing a 3-pointer and then hitting a jumper with 4:07 left in the first. Lange added a bucket during the barrage, and the Cheesemakers upped their lead to 27-20.
But in the final four minutes of the first, Monroe's offense all but disappeared. As did the defense.
"They have a good zone, and it can kind of lull you to sleep a little. I think that's what happened to us a bit," Bassett said.
Monroe tried to full court press late in the half and twice a Dodger was left open cherry-picking at the far end.
"The lack of communication tonight was terrible," Bassett said.
Dodgeville (5-5) closed out the half on a 9-2 run off of three 3s, two from Adam Phillips and another from Riley Glonek. King's basket in the paint with 50 seconds left was Monroe's last bit of offensive hope before halftime, and the two squads hit the break all tied up at 29.
The second half continued to be a back-and-forth battle, with neither team giving in - or hitting many free throws. Monroe finished a paltry 3 of 10 from the charity stripe in the game, including just 2 of 7 in the half. Dodgeville, meanwhile, was 8 of 18 in the game and just 5 of 11 in the second half, including going just 1 for 7 in the final 46 seconds with Monroe trying to hang around.
Monroe's last lead of the game came at 41-40 with 11:22 left in the game after King twice scored in the paint. First, he connected on a putback and then 40 seconds later he drove the baseline. But then Dodgeville went back to chipping away, getting big man Bryce Prochaska involved and letting Phillips drain another 3.
"They've got that good big (Prochaska) that we really focused on," King said. "Those guards kept filling our gaps and cut to the basket. It was really surprising. We tried to adjust in the second half."
Dodgeville guard Nate James sliced his way to the rim throughout the first half, scoring 10 before the break. The aggressiveness of James and Glonek opened the doors for Prochaska's big second half.
Prochaska scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half, and Phillips ended the night with six 3s. Dodgeville slowly pushed their lead to as much as six in the final minutes before missed free throws allowed the Cheesemakers to stay in it. Zettle went off in those final minutes, scoring 11 of Monroe's final 13 points. Ward scored with 2:21, and Zettle's binge didn't start until there was under four minutes to play. No one else scored in the final seven minutes of the game for Monroe.
"We try to get offensive rebounds when the shots aren't falling," King said. "It was a really off-night tonight."
The Cheesemakers still had a chance to tie or win the game outright at the end. Trailing 64-59, Zettle hit a jumper with 38 seconds left. Dodgeville's Noah Blalock made one of two throws with 29.4 seconds left, and then Zettle drained the 3 with 16.8 remaining and the Cheese down 64-62. Dodgeville missed four free throws in the final 14 seconds, and with 2.4 left Monroe had the ball and the length of the court to go. The inbound went to King at half court, and he flipped it to a streaking Zettle along the bench line. Zettle's desperation heave was a bit long and off target from about 30 feet out.
"We had four or five possessions in a row where we missed a whole bunch of bunnies," Bassett said. "Point blank shots."
The Cheesemakers finished with four players in double figures - Zettle's 18, King's 14, Ward had 13 and Lange finished with 10. Dodgeville's Phillips had 18, Nate James finished with 13, Prochaska had 11 and Glonek ended the night at 8.
"(Phillips) was on fire, and we knew he was the one guy that could really shoot for them," Bassett said. "We wanted to take that away, but we just did not do a good job flying out on him. That's why we switch (defenders). We're switching so you can fly out to that guy and take the drive away and take the shot away."
Up next for Monroe (4-5, 2-2 Badger South) is conference rival Edgewood (4-5, 2-2), which comes to town Thursday.
"They've got Mandela Deang, he's a really good player," King said of the Crusader's 6-5 senior, who is averaging 17.2 points per game this season. "We always want to get a good win against Edgewood. I guess we'll see Thursday."
For the Cheesemakers Tuesday, it was a little bit of Column A, and a little bit of Column B as the ball simply struggled to find its way into the net at times for the home team, leading to Dodgeville's 64-62 win in a nonconference game.
"The biggest thing is guys who usually make shots for us weren't making shots for us tonight," Monroe head coach Brian Bassett said. "We missed I don't know how many bunnies tonight. Then they would have some kid that looked like he was on the JV team come down and hit a 3-point shot."
Brayden Zettle scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and Kade King scored 10 of his 14 in the second, but that was simply not good enough.
The Cheesemakers started the night trying to find their groove. All five starters split the first five baskets, but the two teams remained knotted up at 11-11 six minutes into the contest.
Enter substitute Max Lange.
"He was really good getting to the ball tonight," Bassett said of his 6-4 junior. "He was really aggressive and did a great job of attacking on offense - getting those offensive rebounds and up at the high post."
Lange made an instant impact. First he scored on a tip-in putback at the 11:09 mark in the first half, then he followed it up by another putback on an offensive rebound and an And-1 in the paint, all on consecutive possessions. The six-point burst put the Cheesemakers ahead 17-15 with 9:43 to play in the half.
Not long after, senior Hunter Ward got in on the action, scoring thrice on a layup in transition, nailing a 3-pointer and then hitting a jumper with 4:07 left in the first. Lange added a bucket during the barrage, and the Cheesemakers upped their lead to 27-20.
But in the final four minutes of the first, Monroe's offense all but disappeared. As did the defense.
"They have a good zone, and it can kind of lull you to sleep a little. I think that's what happened to us a bit," Bassett said.
Monroe tried to full court press late in the half and twice a Dodger was left open cherry-picking at the far end.
"The lack of communication tonight was terrible," Bassett said.
Dodgeville (5-5) closed out the half on a 9-2 run off of three 3s, two from Adam Phillips and another from Riley Glonek. King's basket in the paint with 50 seconds left was Monroe's last bit of offensive hope before halftime, and the two squads hit the break all tied up at 29.
The second half continued to be a back-and-forth battle, with neither team giving in - or hitting many free throws. Monroe finished a paltry 3 of 10 from the charity stripe in the game, including just 2 of 7 in the half. Dodgeville, meanwhile, was 8 of 18 in the game and just 5 of 11 in the second half, including going just 1 for 7 in the final 46 seconds with Monroe trying to hang around.
Monroe's last lead of the game came at 41-40 with 11:22 left in the game after King twice scored in the paint. First, he connected on a putback and then 40 seconds later he drove the baseline. But then Dodgeville went back to chipping away, getting big man Bryce Prochaska involved and letting Phillips drain another 3.
"They've got that good big (Prochaska) that we really focused on," King said. "Those guards kept filling our gaps and cut to the basket. It was really surprising. We tried to adjust in the second half."
Dodgeville guard Nate James sliced his way to the rim throughout the first half, scoring 10 before the break. The aggressiveness of James and Glonek opened the doors for Prochaska's big second half.
Prochaska scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half, and Phillips ended the night with six 3s. Dodgeville slowly pushed their lead to as much as six in the final minutes before missed free throws allowed the Cheesemakers to stay in it. Zettle went off in those final minutes, scoring 11 of Monroe's final 13 points. Ward scored with 2:21, and Zettle's binge didn't start until there was under four minutes to play. No one else scored in the final seven minutes of the game for Monroe.
"We try to get offensive rebounds when the shots aren't falling," King said. "It was a really off-night tonight."
The Cheesemakers still had a chance to tie or win the game outright at the end. Trailing 64-59, Zettle hit a jumper with 38 seconds left. Dodgeville's Noah Blalock made one of two throws with 29.4 seconds left, and then Zettle drained the 3 with 16.8 remaining and the Cheese down 64-62. Dodgeville missed four free throws in the final 14 seconds, and with 2.4 left Monroe had the ball and the length of the court to go. The inbound went to King at half court, and he flipped it to a streaking Zettle along the bench line. Zettle's desperation heave was a bit long and off target from about 30 feet out.
"We had four or five possessions in a row where we missed a whole bunch of bunnies," Bassett said. "Point blank shots."
The Cheesemakers finished with four players in double figures - Zettle's 18, King's 14, Ward had 13 and Lange finished with 10. Dodgeville's Phillips had 18, Nate James finished with 13, Prochaska had 11 and Glonek ended the night at 8.
"(Phillips) was on fire, and we knew he was the one guy that could really shoot for them," Bassett said. "We wanted to take that away, but we just did not do a good job flying out on him. That's why we switch (defenders). We're switching so you can fly out to that guy and take the drive away and take the shot away."
Up next for Monroe (4-5, 2-2 Badger South) is conference rival Edgewood (4-5, 2-2), which comes to town Thursday.
"They've got Mandela Deang, he's a really good player," King said of the Crusader's 6-5 senior, who is averaging 17.2 points per game this season. "We always want to get a good win against Edgewood. I guess we'll see Thursday."
