FORT ATKINSON - Monroe's boys basketball team has struggled shooting the ball for much of the second half of the season. Just a few games away from playoffs and in a must-win situation for a chance at a Badger South title, the Cheesemakers may have found their stroke Tuesday.
Monroe (12-6, 9-2) hit 10 3-pointers and 20 2s on its way to a 78-37 pounding of Fort Atkinson (1-17, 0-12).
The Blackhawks threw a wrinkled offense at Monroe to open the game, running a dribble-and-weave stall for the first 1 minute, 6 seconds before the Cheese even got the ball. Monroe immediately turned the ball over on a bad pass and Fort Atkinson went right back to its stalling weave.
"They wanted to slow things down and get an open look," Monroe assistant coach Brian Bassett said. "Then when we got the ball and threw it away, we were all thinking, 'Oh man, here we go again.'"
After getting stalled for the first few minutes, the Cheesemakers caught fire and exploded like rockets.
By the end of the first quarter, Monroe led 20-2. By halftime, the Cheesemakers bumped that lead to 41-12.
"Our guys did an excellent job tonight of making each other better," Bassett said. "We passed the ball very well and had tons of assists on cuts to the hoop and 3-pointers."
Of the handfuls of assists Monroe dished out, senior guard Mitch McArdle played delivery man the most. McArdle finished with 16 assists to go along with seven points and zero turnovers.
Mitch Tordoff led all scorers with 23 points, including five 3s. Four of those long balls came in the second quarter.
Every player in the lineup scored for Monroe, which was without sophomore guard Bryan Tordoff due to an illness. Kevin Frint scored 11, Jake Grinnell had 10, Cullen Sampson, Michael Barrett and John Buol each had five points. Zach Rast and Alex Capesius had four and Mike Geiger and Mike Turek each had a bucket in the game.
"We are extremely pleased with our guys' effort tonight. They played as well as they have all year," Bassett said.
Over the last five minutes of the game, Monroe had an unconventional lineup on the floor. Capesius ran the offense from the point with Buol, Geiger, Turek and Frint all in the line.
"We had four of our biggest players in the game at the end, and they ran the offense as well as anyone on our team has run it all season. They passed and caught the ball really well. In fact, they played great defense too. They were up against Fort's starters and we still shut them down," Bassett said.
Monroe hosts Monona Grove (4-14, 3-8) on Friday. With a win, the Cheesemakers will clinch a share of the conference lead with Madison Edgewood (13-4, 8-2). Edgewood's final two conference games are against the two teams tied for third in the conference: Stoughton (8-8, 6-4) and Milton (7-10, 6-4).
Monroe (12-6, 9-2) hit 10 3-pointers and 20 2s on its way to a 78-37 pounding of Fort Atkinson (1-17, 0-12).
The Blackhawks threw a wrinkled offense at Monroe to open the game, running a dribble-and-weave stall for the first 1 minute, 6 seconds before the Cheese even got the ball. Monroe immediately turned the ball over on a bad pass and Fort Atkinson went right back to its stalling weave.
"They wanted to slow things down and get an open look," Monroe assistant coach Brian Bassett said. "Then when we got the ball and threw it away, we were all thinking, 'Oh man, here we go again.'"
After getting stalled for the first few minutes, the Cheesemakers caught fire and exploded like rockets.
By the end of the first quarter, Monroe led 20-2. By halftime, the Cheesemakers bumped that lead to 41-12.
"Our guys did an excellent job tonight of making each other better," Bassett said. "We passed the ball very well and had tons of assists on cuts to the hoop and 3-pointers."
Of the handfuls of assists Monroe dished out, senior guard Mitch McArdle played delivery man the most. McArdle finished with 16 assists to go along with seven points and zero turnovers.
Mitch Tordoff led all scorers with 23 points, including five 3s. Four of those long balls came in the second quarter.
Every player in the lineup scored for Monroe, which was without sophomore guard Bryan Tordoff due to an illness. Kevin Frint scored 11, Jake Grinnell had 10, Cullen Sampson, Michael Barrett and John Buol each had five points. Zach Rast and Alex Capesius had four and Mike Geiger and Mike Turek each had a bucket in the game.
"We are extremely pleased with our guys' effort tonight. They played as well as they have all year," Bassett said.
Over the last five minutes of the game, Monroe had an unconventional lineup on the floor. Capesius ran the offense from the point with Buol, Geiger, Turek and Frint all in the line.
"We had four of our biggest players in the game at the end, and they ran the offense as well as anyone on our team has run it all season. They passed and caught the ball really well. In fact, they played great defense too. They were up against Fort's starters and we still shut them down," Bassett said.
Monroe hosts Monona Grove (4-14, 3-8) on Friday. With a win, the Cheesemakers will clinch a share of the conference lead with Madison Edgewood (13-4, 8-2). Edgewood's final two conference games are against the two teams tied for third in the conference: Stoughton (8-8, 6-4) and Milton (7-10, 6-4).
