MONROE - Platteville head coach Merrill Brunson wished he was up one flight of bleachers Tuesday night.
Top-seeded Monroe unleashed its pressure defense and junior point guard Mitch Tordoff had 18 points - on six 3-pointers - in a 53-28 WIAA postseason opening-round victory against the No. 8-seeded Hillmen in Monroe.
"They work their tails off to get open. They work their tails off on defense," Brunson said. "They're fun to watch. Unfortunately you don't want to be on the sidelines on the other end."
Tordoff opened the game with the hot hand, burying three 3-pointers in a 13-2 run that put the Cheesemakers (19-2 overall) comfortably in front. Tordoff hit his first two triples from the right side, then put a nice capper on Chase Sellnow's efforts down low. Sellnow missed a couple of shots from the lane, but tapped a rebound to Matt Turek, who punched it to Tordoff at the top of the key for a long-range bomb.
Younger brother Bryan Tordoff got into the mix with a 3-pointer and a nifty Tony Cates pass from the left block to a cutting Turek for a layup finished the first-quarter flurry at 18-8.
Monroe's defense clamped down even more in the second quarter, giving up only four points to Platteville (7-14 overall). The Cheesemakers further broke the game open with 15 second-quarter points, thanks to two more Mitch Tordoff triples, a McArdle three and a Sellnow offensive-glass cleanup job for two and a free throw.
"They just kept giving Bryan and Mitch 3s," Brett Stangel observed.
Monroe head coach Pat Murphy made sure the Cheesemakers kept a keen eye on Platteville's star Lucas Ware. The Hillmen junior had averaged 17 points per game, but Monroe didn't let Ware into the scorebook. Brunson admitted that once Platteville got down big on the defending state champions, the Hillmen weren't just playing against the Cheesemakers. They also were playing against time.
"We got out of what we were trying to do because of the pressure of the scoreboard," Brunson said. "That's the nature of high school kids, but it's my job to keep them focused."
Stangel returned to the starting lineup 11 days after suffering a fracture in his right leg. He finished with two points and sat out the second half when the leg tightened up on him with the Cheesemakers leading big. Murphy has no reservations playing the banged up Stangel as long as he can take the lumps.
"He's a competitor and he's going to do whatever he can to play," Murphy said. "He's not holding out for nothing. It's just one of those things, how much pain can he tolerate."
Monroe will host No. 4 Evansville on Thursday as the Blue Devils defeated Mount Horeb, 54-35. Murphy and his staff are going to throw a lot at the Cheesemakers during practice and hope for the best.
"There's one day of preparation. They're going to have to take in some information pretty quickly," Murphy said.
This is the time of the season Turek loves the most, as the Cheesemakers continue their trek to the Kohl Center against the Evansville.
"This is tournament time and now we're rolling," Turek said. "We'll rock and roll again on Thursday."
Top-seeded Monroe unleashed its pressure defense and junior point guard Mitch Tordoff had 18 points - on six 3-pointers - in a 53-28 WIAA postseason opening-round victory against the No. 8-seeded Hillmen in Monroe.
"They work their tails off to get open. They work their tails off on defense," Brunson said. "They're fun to watch. Unfortunately you don't want to be on the sidelines on the other end."
Tordoff opened the game with the hot hand, burying three 3-pointers in a 13-2 run that put the Cheesemakers (19-2 overall) comfortably in front. Tordoff hit his first two triples from the right side, then put a nice capper on Chase Sellnow's efforts down low. Sellnow missed a couple of shots from the lane, but tapped a rebound to Matt Turek, who punched it to Tordoff at the top of the key for a long-range bomb.
Younger brother Bryan Tordoff got into the mix with a 3-pointer and a nifty Tony Cates pass from the left block to a cutting Turek for a layup finished the first-quarter flurry at 18-8.
Monroe's defense clamped down even more in the second quarter, giving up only four points to Platteville (7-14 overall). The Cheesemakers further broke the game open with 15 second-quarter points, thanks to two more Mitch Tordoff triples, a McArdle three and a Sellnow offensive-glass cleanup job for two and a free throw.
"They just kept giving Bryan and Mitch 3s," Brett Stangel observed.
Monroe head coach Pat Murphy made sure the Cheesemakers kept a keen eye on Platteville's star Lucas Ware. The Hillmen junior had averaged 17 points per game, but Monroe didn't let Ware into the scorebook. Brunson admitted that once Platteville got down big on the defending state champions, the Hillmen weren't just playing against the Cheesemakers. They also were playing against time.
"We got out of what we were trying to do because of the pressure of the scoreboard," Brunson said. "That's the nature of high school kids, but it's my job to keep them focused."
Stangel returned to the starting lineup 11 days after suffering a fracture in his right leg. He finished with two points and sat out the second half when the leg tightened up on him with the Cheesemakers leading big. Murphy has no reservations playing the banged up Stangel as long as he can take the lumps.
"He's a competitor and he's going to do whatever he can to play," Murphy said. "He's not holding out for nothing. It's just one of those things, how much pain can he tolerate."
Monroe will host No. 4 Evansville on Thursday as the Blue Devils defeated Mount Horeb, 54-35. Murphy and his staff are going to throw a lot at the Cheesemakers during practice and hope for the best.
"There's one day of preparation. They're going to have to take in some information pretty quickly," Murphy said.
This is the time of the season Turek loves the most, as the Cheesemakers continue their trek to the Kohl Center against the Evansville.
"This is tournament time and now we're rolling," Turek said. "We'll rock and roll again on Thursday."
