MONROE - Just two days after a disappointing weekend loss to now top-ranked Waunakee, the Cheesemakers got right back onto the hardwood Monday night.
In doing so, Monroe found a way to get a needed bounce-back victory, defeating Elkhorn 48-38 in a non-conference game.
"I thought it was better that we got back into it tonight instead of milling over for it for a week. We didn't want to wait too long to get back on it again," said Monroe coach Pat Murphy, who added that he thought the flow of the game slightly unusual. "Weird? Can I say it was a weird game?
"Sometimes you've got to win ugly. We're still trying to figure out what we've got on offense and feeling comfortable and making plays."
Elkhorn (6-8) led early in the game after a string a 3-pointers and solid play in the lane. That left Monroe (12-1) trailing 11-6 after the first quarter.
"We knew what they were going to do. They were a little quicker up top, drive and kick and hit some 3s," Murphy said. "We were fortunate they didn't hit more of them."
The Cheesemakers, ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 3 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, started to find their groove in the second quarter.
Senior Bryan Tordoff got things rolling 28 seconds into the second by hitting a jump shot. Thirty seconds later, Tordoff found Andrew Armstrong in the paint and senior Michael Barrett stole the ensuing Elk inbound pass and went up to the hoop, hitting the shot and getting fouled.
It was the first of three and-1 opportunities in the first half.
Damian Penniston's jumper-and-1 with 5:48 left in the second gave Monroe it's first lead since the 7:27 mark of the first quarter.
"I've been trying to find my shot all season. Tonight it was here," said Penniston, who scored nine points in the game."We just have to keep our heads up and keep going. They say it gets harder as the year goes on."
In the loss to Waunakee, the Cheesemakers saw the free-throw line just nine times in the second half despite being in the bonus nearly throughout. On Monday night, Monroe had no trouble finding the charity stripe.
The Cheesemakers shot 18 of 27 from the line in the contest. Barrett himself was 7 of 12 in the game.
"We got to the line, and that's what Murph wanted. Hopefully he's happy," Barrett said. "It's good that we hit those (fouled) jump shots. Our jump shots haven't been falling and it just gives our guys even more confidence to hit those and then get to the line."
Penniston's jumper sparked Monroe, which finished the first half on a 14-5 run to take a 26-21 lead at the break.
"We looked really sluggish. We didn't look good," Penniston said. "(Murphy) wasn't too mad, but he told us to not stop and to keep going. We were rolling and rolling and then we got stomped (by Waunakee). We just want to get rolling again."
Tordoff, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter to open the game up, and Penniston followed with another jumper to make it 31-23.
Elkhorn worked their way back into the game and pulled to just two points headed into the fourth quarter. That's when Barrett took over.
"That's where we're at and it's a little frustrating," Murphy said. "We've got to have guys at this part of the season keep getting better. We have a lot of guys looking over their shoulder on offense. We never pull a kid out for missing shots."
Barrett scored eight of his game-high 17 points in the final frame to help the Cheesemakers get back on the winning track.
"We don't really look back on past games, win or lose. We just want to move right on to the next one," Barrett said. "But it was nice to get a win after a loss like that."
Monroe (6-0 Badger South) gets back into conference mode on Friday, as the Cheesemakers travel to Stoughton (3-11, 0-6).
"We'll hope to get better tomorrow and get ready to kick-start the second half of the conference season," Murphy said.
In doing so, Monroe found a way to get a needed bounce-back victory, defeating Elkhorn 48-38 in a non-conference game.
"I thought it was better that we got back into it tonight instead of milling over for it for a week. We didn't want to wait too long to get back on it again," said Monroe coach Pat Murphy, who added that he thought the flow of the game slightly unusual. "Weird? Can I say it was a weird game?
"Sometimes you've got to win ugly. We're still trying to figure out what we've got on offense and feeling comfortable and making plays."
Elkhorn (6-8) led early in the game after a string a 3-pointers and solid play in the lane. That left Monroe (12-1) trailing 11-6 after the first quarter.
"We knew what they were going to do. They were a little quicker up top, drive and kick and hit some 3s," Murphy said. "We were fortunate they didn't hit more of them."
The Cheesemakers, ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 3 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, started to find their groove in the second quarter.
Senior Bryan Tordoff got things rolling 28 seconds into the second by hitting a jump shot. Thirty seconds later, Tordoff found Andrew Armstrong in the paint and senior Michael Barrett stole the ensuing Elk inbound pass and went up to the hoop, hitting the shot and getting fouled.
It was the first of three and-1 opportunities in the first half.
Damian Penniston's jumper-and-1 with 5:48 left in the second gave Monroe it's first lead since the 7:27 mark of the first quarter.
"I've been trying to find my shot all season. Tonight it was here," said Penniston, who scored nine points in the game."We just have to keep our heads up and keep going. They say it gets harder as the year goes on."
In the loss to Waunakee, the Cheesemakers saw the free-throw line just nine times in the second half despite being in the bonus nearly throughout. On Monday night, Monroe had no trouble finding the charity stripe.
The Cheesemakers shot 18 of 27 from the line in the contest. Barrett himself was 7 of 12 in the game.
"We got to the line, and that's what Murph wanted. Hopefully he's happy," Barrett said. "It's good that we hit those (fouled) jump shots. Our jump shots haven't been falling and it just gives our guys even more confidence to hit those and then get to the line."
Penniston's jumper sparked Monroe, which finished the first half on a 14-5 run to take a 26-21 lead at the break.
"We looked really sluggish. We didn't look good," Penniston said. "(Murphy) wasn't too mad, but he told us to not stop and to keep going. We were rolling and rolling and then we got stomped (by Waunakee). We just want to get rolling again."
Tordoff, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter to open the game up, and Penniston followed with another jumper to make it 31-23.
Elkhorn worked their way back into the game and pulled to just two points headed into the fourth quarter. That's when Barrett took over.
"That's where we're at and it's a little frustrating," Murphy said. "We've got to have guys at this part of the season keep getting better. We have a lot of guys looking over their shoulder on offense. We never pull a kid out for missing shots."
Barrett scored eight of his game-high 17 points in the final frame to help the Cheesemakers get back on the winning track.
"We don't really look back on past games, win or lose. We just want to move right on to the next one," Barrett said. "But it was nice to get a win after a loss like that."
Monroe (6-0 Badger South) gets back into conference mode on Friday, as the Cheesemakers travel to Stoughton (3-11, 0-6).
"We'll hope to get better tomorrow and get ready to kick-start the second half of the conference season," Murphy said.
