WAUNAKEE - One Mitch gave Monroe a chance. Another Mitch gave Waunakee the win.
In the top game in the Badger Challenge Friday, Warrior Mitch Roelke nailed two free throws and sank the last basket of the game to give Waunakee a 63-60 victory.
"He's the best point guard in the Northern Badger, maybe the conference," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "Waunakee is a heck of a team."
Roelke's last-second heroics quashed a stellar run by the Cheesemakers, who were down 57-45 with three minutes left in the game.
At that point, Mitch Tordoff took over the scoring for Monroe. He scored 13 straight Cheesemakers points, turning the 12-point gap into a 59-58 deficit with 21 seconds left.
"We battled as hard as we could," Tordoff said. "We got frantic there in the fourth, and that caused Waunakee to turn the ball over a bit."
Bryan Tordoff nailed a jumper with less than 10 seconds to go to give the Cheesemakers their first lead since the first basket of the game. That lead was short-lived, however, as a Monroe foul led to Roelke's two made free throws with 5.5 seconds left. Roelke then stole the inbounds pass and laid it in just before the buzzer for the final margin.
Roelke finished with a team-high 21 points.
Mitch Tordoff scored 21 and Bryan added 17. The brothers combined for 30 of Monroe's last 32 points.
The brothers' effort gave Waunakee head coach Dana MacKenzie some anxiety.
"That's not exactly how we wanted the end of the game to go," MacKenzie said. "We came back in the last minute against Randolph only to lose, and that game helped us here tonight."
The Cheesemakers came close to taking the lead 14 seconds into the fourth quarter, when Bryan Tordoff sank a three-pointer to tie the game at 41-41 as part of an 8-0 run, but two turnovers resulted in five points for Waunakee and the Warriors jumped ahead with a 9-0 run to make it 52-43.
Mitch Tordoff said the loss, which drops the Cheesemakers to 13-7, will help Monroe, too, as regionals begin Tuesday at home against Mount Horeb.
"We haven't faced a team like this all year. They made us do stuff we don't normally do," he said. "That's going to help us come tourney time."
Waunakee's constant pressure and full-court press rattled Monroe at times. The Cheesemakers threw the ball away five times.
"I wish we could have had some plays back," Murphy said. "We didn't do a good job of passing and catching the basketball."
Murphy hopes to correct the problem by Tuesday, when Monroe squares off against 3-16 Mount Horeb. The Vikings went 0-12 in the Badger North, but won their Badger Challenge match-up against Fort Atkinson 61-60.
"Our goal is to get back here to Waunakee, site of the sectional semifinal," Murphy said. "We've got some tough games in our regional, but we want to get back here."
In the top game in the Badger Challenge Friday, Warrior Mitch Roelke nailed two free throws and sank the last basket of the game to give Waunakee a 63-60 victory.
"He's the best point guard in the Northern Badger, maybe the conference," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "Waunakee is a heck of a team."
Roelke's last-second heroics quashed a stellar run by the Cheesemakers, who were down 57-45 with three minutes left in the game.
At that point, Mitch Tordoff took over the scoring for Monroe. He scored 13 straight Cheesemakers points, turning the 12-point gap into a 59-58 deficit with 21 seconds left.
"We battled as hard as we could," Tordoff said. "We got frantic there in the fourth, and that caused Waunakee to turn the ball over a bit."
Bryan Tordoff nailed a jumper with less than 10 seconds to go to give the Cheesemakers their first lead since the first basket of the game. That lead was short-lived, however, as a Monroe foul led to Roelke's two made free throws with 5.5 seconds left. Roelke then stole the inbounds pass and laid it in just before the buzzer for the final margin.
Roelke finished with a team-high 21 points.
Mitch Tordoff scored 21 and Bryan added 17. The brothers combined for 30 of Monroe's last 32 points.
The brothers' effort gave Waunakee head coach Dana MacKenzie some anxiety.
"That's not exactly how we wanted the end of the game to go," MacKenzie said. "We came back in the last minute against Randolph only to lose, and that game helped us here tonight."
The Cheesemakers came close to taking the lead 14 seconds into the fourth quarter, when Bryan Tordoff sank a three-pointer to tie the game at 41-41 as part of an 8-0 run, but two turnovers resulted in five points for Waunakee and the Warriors jumped ahead with a 9-0 run to make it 52-43.
Mitch Tordoff said the loss, which drops the Cheesemakers to 13-7, will help Monroe, too, as regionals begin Tuesday at home against Mount Horeb.
"We haven't faced a team like this all year. They made us do stuff we don't normally do," he said. "That's going to help us come tourney time."
Waunakee's constant pressure and full-court press rattled Monroe at times. The Cheesemakers threw the ball away five times.
"I wish we could have had some plays back," Murphy said. "We didn't do a good job of passing and catching the basketball."
Murphy hopes to correct the problem by Tuesday, when Monroe squares off against 3-16 Mount Horeb. The Vikings went 0-12 in the Badger North, but won their Badger Challenge match-up against Fort Atkinson 61-60.
"Our goal is to get back here to Waunakee, site of the sectional semifinal," Murphy said. "We've got some tough games in our regional, but we want to get back here."
