NEW GLARUS - Cullen Brooks didn't want a repeat performance down the stretch of the last time the New Glarus boys basketball team played Monroe.
That was last season when the Glarner Knights let a 15-point second-half lead slip away in a 74-62 overtime loss to the Cheesemakers.
Brooks, a junior, along with sophomore point guard Jaden Kreklow made sure the Glarner Knights wouldn't have to relive that moment. Kreklow scored a game-high 19 points to help the Knights roll to an 88-71 nonconference win over the Cheesemakers on Tuesday.
"It was good especially after last year when we let a 15-point lead slip away," said Brooks, who had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds along with three steals and two blocks. "That was definitely one of our points. We knew they (Monroe) had beat a team by 17 points last week. We just had to come out strong, grind down and get to work."
It was far from a two-man show for New Glarus (5-2). The Knights had five players reach double figures. New Glarus junior Dishawn Gale added 15 points off the bench. Sophomore Zach Feller chipped in 13 points, and sophomore Trevor Gassman had 11 points. The Knights led by as many as 18 points in the second half and did most of their damage with penetration.
"Our offense is all about our dribble attacking the basket," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We have some guys who can handle the ball and get to the basket. A lot of people thought we were a two-person or three-person team. I think tonight we showed we have some depth and have some guys who can do some good things."
Monroe coach Brian Bassett was disappointed that two of the Knights' starters - Kreklow (three fouls) and Brooks (two fouls) got into some foul trouble in the first half but finished the game with the same number of fouls as they had at halftime.
"We didn't attack the basket enough to win the game," Bassett said. "They had us on our heels. We just have to get the ball more in the paint. We did a terrible job of getting the ball to the basket."
Senior Alex Tordoff scored a team-high 18 points for Monroe (3-4). Junior Brayden Zettle added 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Nick Schumacher had 12 points and hit three 3-pointers, and senior Carter Sawdey chipped in nine points.
Early on, it was all Knights. New Glarus opened up a 17-point lead with a 21-6 run. Gassman drilled a 3-pointer and Kreklow had a three-point play to give the Knights a 19-13 lead with 12 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first half. Feller knocked down two 3-pointers during the spurt to extend the Knights' lead to 33-16.
"I thought we came out really sloppy, and they took advantage of our mistakes and that led to their lead," Tordoff said. "We had a lot of turnovers and didn't box out. That's how they got their easy points."
The Cheesemakers responded with a 12-3 run. Sawdey hit a jumper in the lane to slice the Knights' lead to 36-28 with 2:39 to go. Tordoff hit a 3-pointer late in the first half to cut the Knights' lead to 42-33 at the half.
In the second half, senior Christian Arnett gave the Knights a jolt by scoring eight straight points en route to a 52-37 New Glarus lead. Schumacher helped the Cheesemakers make a run. He drilled an off-balance shot and hit a 3-pointer that cut the Knights' lead to 58-49. That is as close as the Cheesemakers would get. The Knights went on a 7-0 spurt sparked by Feller's 3-pointer and Gassman's layup to build a 65-49 lead.
Bassett understands the Cheesemakers have to do a better job of stopping penetration and keeping the ball out of the paint where the Knights thrived.
"Without a doubt, we have to get in the lanes," he said. "We had talked about that all week. We didn't execute how I thought we could."
The Cheesemakers went to a halfcourt trapping defense late, but after a couple of steals by Tordoff, the Knights used the 6-foot-4 Brooks out top and he had a couple of passes to a slashing Gale for backdoor layups.
"We are supposed to do it (halfcourt trapping defense) more often," Bassett said. "It helped us a little bit. It didn't help us the way we needed it to."
Monroe will play at Dodgeville on Thursday. The Dodgers have a 6-6 post player in Bryce Prochaska, who averages 14.2 points per game and will test Monroe.
"We will play a Dodgeville team Thursday that has a lot of size," Bassett said. "Hopefully, we can respond well to that."
New Glarus will host Darlington, ranked No. 2 in the WisSports.net Division 4 Coaches poll, on Tuesday.
"We have a really tough nonconference schedule," Sysko said. "These are the types of games that will prepare you for the conference stretch."
That was last season when the Glarner Knights let a 15-point second-half lead slip away in a 74-62 overtime loss to the Cheesemakers.
Brooks, a junior, along with sophomore point guard Jaden Kreklow made sure the Glarner Knights wouldn't have to relive that moment. Kreklow scored a game-high 19 points to help the Knights roll to an 88-71 nonconference win over the Cheesemakers on Tuesday.
"It was good especially after last year when we let a 15-point lead slip away," said Brooks, who had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds along with three steals and two blocks. "That was definitely one of our points. We knew they (Monroe) had beat a team by 17 points last week. We just had to come out strong, grind down and get to work."
It was far from a two-man show for New Glarus (5-2). The Knights had five players reach double figures. New Glarus junior Dishawn Gale added 15 points off the bench. Sophomore Zach Feller chipped in 13 points, and sophomore Trevor Gassman had 11 points. The Knights led by as many as 18 points in the second half and did most of their damage with penetration.
"Our offense is all about our dribble attacking the basket," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We have some guys who can handle the ball and get to the basket. A lot of people thought we were a two-person or three-person team. I think tonight we showed we have some depth and have some guys who can do some good things."
Monroe coach Brian Bassett was disappointed that two of the Knights' starters - Kreklow (three fouls) and Brooks (two fouls) got into some foul trouble in the first half but finished the game with the same number of fouls as they had at halftime.
"We didn't attack the basket enough to win the game," Bassett said. "They had us on our heels. We just have to get the ball more in the paint. We did a terrible job of getting the ball to the basket."
Senior Alex Tordoff scored a team-high 18 points for Monroe (3-4). Junior Brayden Zettle added 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Nick Schumacher had 12 points and hit three 3-pointers, and senior Carter Sawdey chipped in nine points.
Early on, it was all Knights. New Glarus opened up a 17-point lead with a 21-6 run. Gassman drilled a 3-pointer and Kreklow had a three-point play to give the Knights a 19-13 lead with 12 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first half. Feller knocked down two 3-pointers during the spurt to extend the Knights' lead to 33-16.
"I thought we came out really sloppy, and they took advantage of our mistakes and that led to their lead," Tordoff said. "We had a lot of turnovers and didn't box out. That's how they got their easy points."
The Cheesemakers responded with a 12-3 run. Sawdey hit a jumper in the lane to slice the Knights' lead to 36-28 with 2:39 to go. Tordoff hit a 3-pointer late in the first half to cut the Knights' lead to 42-33 at the half.
In the second half, senior Christian Arnett gave the Knights a jolt by scoring eight straight points en route to a 52-37 New Glarus lead. Schumacher helped the Cheesemakers make a run. He drilled an off-balance shot and hit a 3-pointer that cut the Knights' lead to 58-49. That is as close as the Cheesemakers would get. The Knights went on a 7-0 spurt sparked by Feller's 3-pointer and Gassman's layup to build a 65-49 lead.
Bassett understands the Cheesemakers have to do a better job of stopping penetration and keeping the ball out of the paint where the Knights thrived.
"Without a doubt, we have to get in the lanes," he said. "We had talked about that all week. We didn't execute how I thought we could."
The Cheesemakers went to a halfcourt trapping defense late, but after a couple of steals by Tordoff, the Knights used the 6-foot-4 Brooks out top and he had a couple of passes to a slashing Gale for backdoor layups.
"We are supposed to do it (halfcourt trapping defense) more often," Bassett said. "It helped us a little bit. It didn't help us the way we needed it to."
Monroe will play at Dodgeville on Thursday. The Dodgers have a 6-6 post player in Bryce Prochaska, who averages 14.2 points per game and will test Monroe.
"We will play a Dodgeville team Thursday that has a lot of size," Bassett said. "Hopefully, we can respond well to that."
New Glarus will host Darlington, ranked No. 2 in the WisSports.net Division 4 Coaches poll, on Tuesday.
"We have a really tough nonconference schedule," Sysko said. "These are the types of games that will prepare you for the conference stretch."
