By John McNally
jmcnally@themonroetimes.com
SUN PRAIRIE - Tony Cates got a hero's welcome at midcourt when the final buzzer sounded Saturday in Sun Prairie.
Monroe's 6-7 senior found some space in the middle of the paint to corral and putback Mitch Tordoff's 12-footer from the left baseline to lift with 3 seconds to go in the Cheesemakers over East Troy, 54-53, in the WIAA Division 2 Sectional Final and put Monroe back in the state tournament for the second straight year.
Cates also disrupted the Trojans' last-ditch effort from halfcourt just enough to have the shot hit the left side of the rim and bounce harmlessly away and let the celebration begin. Cates scored the final four Cheesemakers' points and finished with nine, but none more important in his career than the final two.
"I just saw Mitch going to the middle and if he was going miss it was going to bounce back towards where he shot it from," Cates said. "So I just had to get that position."
The Cheesemakers (23-2) will play New Berlin Eisenhower (21-4) - who defeated Brown Deer 52-49 Saturday - Friday afternoon in Madison at the Kohl Center approximately at 3:15 p.m.
For more extensive coverage of the Cheesemakers' victory please see Monday's sports section of The Monroe Times.
jmcnally@themonroetimes.com
SUN PRAIRIE - Tony Cates got a hero's welcome at midcourt when the final buzzer sounded Saturday in Sun Prairie.
Monroe's 6-7 senior found some space in the middle of the paint to corral and putback Mitch Tordoff's 12-footer from the left baseline to lift with 3 seconds to go in the Cheesemakers over East Troy, 54-53, in the WIAA Division 2 Sectional Final and put Monroe back in the state tournament for the second straight year.
Cates also disrupted the Trojans' last-ditch effort from halfcourt just enough to have the shot hit the left side of the rim and bounce harmlessly away and let the celebration begin. Cates scored the final four Cheesemakers' points and finished with nine, but none more important in his career than the final two.
"I just saw Mitch going to the middle and if he was going miss it was going to bounce back towards where he shot it from," Cates said. "So I just had to get that position."
The Cheesemakers (23-2) will play New Berlin Eisenhower (21-4) - who defeated Brown Deer 52-49 Saturday - Friday afternoon in Madison at the Kohl Center approximately at 3:15 p.m.
For more extensive coverage of the Cheesemakers' victory please see Monday's sports section of The Monroe Times.
