MADISON - Long after Friday's heartwrenching loss, the Cheesemaker faithful still stared in disbelief. For minutes. Maybe longer.
It was as if they were still trying to figure out if what they witnessed was real.
The Lions of New Berlin Eisenhower knocked out Monroe by, essentially, beating last year's Division 2 champions at their own game.
The Cheesemakers are relentlessly likened to their collegiate neighbors to the north, the Wisconsin Badgers, for their disciplined offensive sets, tenacious defense and ability to win the psychological aspect of the game.
For 28 minutes Friday, the Cheesemakers found themselves wishing they were more themselves, while the Lions played copy-cat.
"It's frustrating to get this far and not bring your so-called 'A-game,'" head coach Pat Murphy said, "but credit them. They made us do a lot of stuff we don't normally do."
Whereas the Cheese buried clutch shot after shot over Port Washington's 1-3-1 zone in last year's title bout, this year they faced staunch, man-to-man defense at every turn after darting out to a game-opening 10-4 lead.
"We got going really well early and thought everything was going to go in like last year," Monroe senior Brett Stangel said.
But the similarities to last year's shooting line ended midway through the first quarter as Monroe failed to score over the next five minutes and the Lions got hot.
And that's all it takes, as Murphy found out before his team even took the Kohl Center floor.
"Once they got the lead, they weren't gonna give it up," Murphy said. "I've seen them on tape more than once and that's what they do to everybody. They get up on you in the fourth quarter, pass it, catch it and put guys at the line that will make plays and hit their shots.
"That's just the sign of a good team."
Most notably, Lions junior Kevin Marr hit five of his six free throws in the final 41.1 seconds to put the Cheesemakers on ice. The 6-3 forward boasted the lowest free-throw shooting percentage entering the game at 61 percent, but Eisenhower head coach Dave Scheidegger knew his big man would only be thinking of blue skies as he aimed for the back of the iron cup.
"Marr's a very good golfer and it takes a lot of mental toughness. I've seen him putt and that's kind of the same situation," Scheidegger said. "You just stop all the other parts and just focus and aim for the back of the cup if you will."
There were two distinct moments down the stretch when it appeared Monroe may have still been the team of destiny. First, with a minute-and-a-half to play and the Lions up 48-43, an Eisenhower pass was deflected and bounced high off Marr's shoe. Before he leaped to corral the ball, it struck the bottom of the backboard, awarding possession back to the Cheesemakers.
After a Monroe timeout, two Tony Cates free throws cut the deficit back to three before Eisenhower senior point guard Alex Krzykowski uncharacteristically fumbled an inbounds pass back out along the Monroe bench.
But Marr traded pairs of free throws with Stangel and the Lions warded off their prey, leaving Murphy with an unsettling departure from Madison.
"It felt to us like we were on our heels all game long and you would've thought that would be different after we were here last year," Murphy said.
It was as if they were still trying to figure out if what they witnessed was real.
The Lions of New Berlin Eisenhower knocked out Monroe by, essentially, beating last year's Division 2 champions at their own game.
The Cheesemakers are relentlessly likened to their collegiate neighbors to the north, the Wisconsin Badgers, for their disciplined offensive sets, tenacious defense and ability to win the psychological aspect of the game.
For 28 minutes Friday, the Cheesemakers found themselves wishing they were more themselves, while the Lions played copy-cat.
"It's frustrating to get this far and not bring your so-called 'A-game,'" head coach Pat Murphy said, "but credit them. They made us do a lot of stuff we don't normally do."
Whereas the Cheese buried clutch shot after shot over Port Washington's 1-3-1 zone in last year's title bout, this year they faced staunch, man-to-man defense at every turn after darting out to a game-opening 10-4 lead.
"We got going really well early and thought everything was going to go in like last year," Monroe senior Brett Stangel said.
But the similarities to last year's shooting line ended midway through the first quarter as Monroe failed to score over the next five minutes and the Lions got hot.
And that's all it takes, as Murphy found out before his team even took the Kohl Center floor.
"Once they got the lead, they weren't gonna give it up," Murphy said. "I've seen them on tape more than once and that's what they do to everybody. They get up on you in the fourth quarter, pass it, catch it and put guys at the line that will make plays and hit their shots.
"That's just the sign of a good team."
Most notably, Lions junior Kevin Marr hit five of his six free throws in the final 41.1 seconds to put the Cheesemakers on ice. The 6-3 forward boasted the lowest free-throw shooting percentage entering the game at 61 percent, but Eisenhower head coach Dave Scheidegger knew his big man would only be thinking of blue skies as he aimed for the back of the iron cup.
"Marr's a very good golfer and it takes a lot of mental toughness. I've seen him putt and that's kind of the same situation," Scheidegger said. "You just stop all the other parts and just focus and aim for the back of the cup if you will."
There were two distinct moments down the stretch when it appeared Monroe may have still been the team of destiny. First, with a minute-and-a-half to play and the Lions up 48-43, an Eisenhower pass was deflected and bounced high off Marr's shoe. Before he leaped to corral the ball, it struck the bottom of the backboard, awarding possession back to the Cheesemakers.
After a Monroe timeout, two Tony Cates free throws cut the deficit back to three before Eisenhower senior point guard Alex Krzykowski uncharacteristically fumbled an inbounds pass back out along the Monroe bench.
But Marr traded pairs of free throws with Stangel and the Lions warded off their prey, leaving Murphy with an unsettling departure from Madison.
"It felt to us like we were on our heels all game long and you would've thought that would be different after we were here last year," Murphy said.
