MONROE - The reigning Badger South boys basketball champions continue to roll.
Monroe (3-1, 3-0) got solid minutes from all 12 players in a game that saw the Cheesemakers shoot 34 free throws - 28 in the second half - in their 71-26 win over Oregon (1-3, 1-1).
"It's nice knowing that since we have very few varsity reserve games that we can get all of the guys on our bench in to play a lot of minutes," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "It was big to have these guys get a lot of reps at varsity speed. They get a chance to work on positioning and to run the offense. It just really helps build their confidence."
The first quarter started off as a duel. Monroe's first eight points all came from different starters, while Oregon's first nine points all came from junior Jason Hinz. The Panthers took their only lead with 2:21 left in the opening quarter when Hinz nailed a jumper to make it 9-8. Monroe got back on top at the 1:28 mark when sophomore Bryan Tordoff knocked in a 3-pointer.
From there, it was all Cheesemakers.
Oregon's Alex McCauley tied the score at 11-11 just 15 seconds into the second quarter, but Mitch McArdle responded with a rim-bouncing 3-pointer that gave Monroe the lead for good.
"In that first quarter, Hinz was going for (Oregon). It was a pretty good game. But I give credit to our defense for shutting him down. Cullen Sampson and Michael Barrett played great on defense, and as a team we seemed to get rejuvenated on the defensive side of the floor," Murphy said.
Barrett and Sampson weren't the only ones seen running all over the floor. Senior Zach Rast methodically had his fingers on every loose ball, while McArdle continued his impressive defensive play by holding Brian Ironmonger to just 4 points in the game. Ironmonger had been averaging 13.7 points per game.
Hinz didn't score the rest of the game, and Oregon managed only six more points in the half. Monroe, meanwhile, put 20 points on the board in the second frame.
At the end of the first half, Jake Grinnell was the Cheesemakers' leading scorer with 8 points. Though he wouldn't score again, Grinnell played solid defense against Oregon's big men.
Also in the game, 6-foot, 7-inch junior Kevin Frint boosted his confidence with solid play on defense and 10 points on offense.
"We're getting Kevin Frint used to varsity speed right now," Cheesemakers assistant coach Brian Bassett said. "Our big thing is we need to get his confidence up because we are going to need him down the road. He knows that and the rest of the team knows that."
In the second half, Monroe sealed the game quickly.
Mitch Tordoff, fresh off a career high 35-point game last weekend against Milton, hit a 3-pointer to get things started in the third quarter. He finished with 8 points.
Monroe started the second half scoring 12 straight points to finish a 19-0 run. The Cheesemakers led by 30 points with just more than a minute to play in the third, and went into the fourth leading 49-19.
"We wanted to be able to hold them without a breakaway layup. We did that tonight. Making a team go 5-on-5 every position puts you in a great position to win every game," Murphy said. "We like to get the ball and run with it, too. So it was a very good game in that regard."
Despite the large difference in the score, Oregon continued to play hard. Soon that hard play turned into fouls that quickly accumulated. The Panthers were called for 10 fouls in the fourth quarter, 18 in the half, and 25 in the game.
In response, the Cheesemakers shot 20 free throws in the final period, and finished by hitting 17 of them - an 85 percent mark. In the game, Monroe finished 29-of-34 from the charity stripe (85.2 percent).
McArdle's 12 points led the way for Monroe. Barrett and Frint also reached double-digits with 10 points apiece. Bryan Tordoff finished with nine points. Coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, junior Alex Capesius scored all seven of his points via the free throw line. Cullen Sampson had five points and Michael Turek added two points in the win.
Monroe travels to Reedsburg on Friday night in a conference cross-over game with the Badger North.
Monroe (3-1, 3-0) got solid minutes from all 12 players in a game that saw the Cheesemakers shoot 34 free throws - 28 in the second half - in their 71-26 win over Oregon (1-3, 1-1).
"It's nice knowing that since we have very few varsity reserve games that we can get all of the guys on our bench in to play a lot of minutes," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "It was big to have these guys get a lot of reps at varsity speed. They get a chance to work on positioning and to run the offense. It just really helps build their confidence."
The first quarter started off as a duel. Monroe's first eight points all came from different starters, while Oregon's first nine points all came from junior Jason Hinz. The Panthers took their only lead with 2:21 left in the opening quarter when Hinz nailed a jumper to make it 9-8. Monroe got back on top at the 1:28 mark when sophomore Bryan Tordoff knocked in a 3-pointer.
From there, it was all Cheesemakers.
Oregon's Alex McCauley tied the score at 11-11 just 15 seconds into the second quarter, but Mitch McArdle responded with a rim-bouncing 3-pointer that gave Monroe the lead for good.
"In that first quarter, Hinz was going for (Oregon). It was a pretty good game. But I give credit to our defense for shutting him down. Cullen Sampson and Michael Barrett played great on defense, and as a team we seemed to get rejuvenated on the defensive side of the floor," Murphy said.
Barrett and Sampson weren't the only ones seen running all over the floor. Senior Zach Rast methodically had his fingers on every loose ball, while McArdle continued his impressive defensive play by holding Brian Ironmonger to just 4 points in the game. Ironmonger had been averaging 13.7 points per game.
Hinz didn't score the rest of the game, and Oregon managed only six more points in the half. Monroe, meanwhile, put 20 points on the board in the second frame.
At the end of the first half, Jake Grinnell was the Cheesemakers' leading scorer with 8 points. Though he wouldn't score again, Grinnell played solid defense against Oregon's big men.
Also in the game, 6-foot, 7-inch junior Kevin Frint boosted his confidence with solid play on defense and 10 points on offense.
"We're getting Kevin Frint used to varsity speed right now," Cheesemakers assistant coach Brian Bassett said. "Our big thing is we need to get his confidence up because we are going to need him down the road. He knows that and the rest of the team knows that."
In the second half, Monroe sealed the game quickly.
Mitch Tordoff, fresh off a career high 35-point game last weekend against Milton, hit a 3-pointer to get things started in the third quarter. He finished with 8 points.
Monroe started the second half scoring 12 straight points to finish a 19-0 run. The Cheesemakers led by 30 points with just more than a minute to play in the third, and went into the fourth leading 49-19.
"We wanted to be able to hold them without a breakaway layup. We did that tonight. Making a team go 5-on-5 every position puts you in a great position to win every game," Murphy said. "We like to get the ball and run with it, too. So it was a very good game in that regard."
Despite the large difference in the score, Oregon continued to play hard. Soon that hard play turned into fouls that quickly accumulated. The Panthers were called for 10 fouls in the fourth quarter, 18 in the half, and 25 in the game.
In response, the Cheesemakers shot 20 free throws in the final period, and finished by hitting 17 of them - an 85 percent mark. In the game, Monroe finished 29-of-34 from the charity stripe (85.2 percent).
McArdle's 12 points led the way for Monroe. Barrett and Frint also reached double-digits with 10 points apiece. Bryan Tordoff finished with nine points. Coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, junior Alex Capesius scored all seven of his points via the free throw line. Cullen Sampson had five points and Michael Turek added two points in the win.
Monroe travels to Reedsburg on Friday night in a conference cross-over game with the Badger North.
