JANESVILLE - Defense wins championships. The Monroe boys basketball team got a championship effort from its defense and rolled to a 56-34 win over Janesville Parker Tuesday.
Monroe's stifling man-to-man defense shut out Janesville Parker's leading scorer Connor Osmond, who entered the game averaging 11.2 points per game.
"I think we definitely took away their best two players," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "You try not to get beat by guys who are proven scorers. We struggled attacking their 2-3 zone. When our offense struggled, our defense kept us in it."
Monroe (2-4, 0-2 Badger South) outscored the Vikings 12-6 in the second quarter to take a five-point lead at halftime. Monroe senior Kevin Noriega drilled two 3-pointers and senior Desmond Ford knocked down a 3-pointer to push a five-point lead to a 14-point lead in the third quarter. The Cheese-makers outscored the Vikings 17-1 in the third quarter to seal the win.
Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff scored a game-high 15 points and senior Logan Weckerly added 13 points. Noriega added seven points and junior Ben Latimer chipped in six points.
The Cheesemakers made 23 of 37 from the free-throw line and lived at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, hitting 17 of 26.
Monroe will host Monona Grove in a Badger South Conference clash Friday.
"They (Monona Grove) like to take you off the dribble," Murphy said. "We will have to find a way to stay in front of them. We will have to not let them come in and push us around."
Monroe's stifling man-to-man defense shut out Janesville Parker's leading scorer Connor Osmond, who entered the game averaging 11.2 points per game.
"I think we definitely took away their best two players," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "You try not to get beat by guys who are proven scorers. We struggled attacking their 2-3 zone. When our offense struggled, our defense kept us in it."
Monroe (2-4, 0-2 Badger South) outscored the Vikings 12-6 in the second quarter to take a five-point lead at halftime. Monroe senior Kevin Noriega drilled two 3-pointers and senior Desmond Ford knocked down a 3-pointer to push a five-point lead to a 14-point lead in the third quarter. The Cheese-makers outscored the Vikings 17-1 in the third quarter to seal the win.
Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff scored a game-high 15 points and senior Logan Weckerly added 13 points. Noriega added seven points and junior Ben Latimer chipped in six points.
The Cheesemakers made 23 of 37 from the free-throw line and lived at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, hitting 17 of 26.
Monroe will host Monona Grove in a Badger South Conference clash Friday.
"They (Monona Grove) like to take you off the dribble," Murphy said. "We will have to find a way to stay in front of them. We will have to not let them come in and push us around."
