MADISON - The Cheesemakers kept their chins high and the score close, but in the end it was Wisconsin Lutheran that was destined to win the WIAA Division 2 boys basketball state championship this season.
"(Wisconsin Lutheran has) a lot of weapons," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said after his team's 79-67 loss Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center in Madison. "That's why they're state champions."
The Vikings (24-2) came into the game boasting 6-foot, 4-inch Flavien Davis, along with several other forwards and centers that tower over nearly everyone on Monroe's roster.
"They are big, and that hurt us. We don't have those 6-8 guys who can jump out of a gym. We'd like to, but we don't. We have to play with what we've got," Murphy said.
All season long, 5-foot-9 senior guard Mitch McArdle guarded the best player the opposing team puts on the floor - and he typically shuts them down. Davis may have been the best of the litter, and finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds Saturday.
"(Flavien's) a really good player and I played like crap," McArdle said. "I just didn't do a very good job. I should have played better defense on him. It's frustrating going out that way. He's a really good player, but he shouldn't have scored that many points. I feel like I let the guys down."
Murphy had different feelings on the matter.
"Flavien's the real deal. He wants to showcase something. Big-time players like the big stage and Davis is one of the best we've seen. To do what he did on McArdle ... there's a reason he's going to play Division 1 (college) somewhere," he said.
Monroe did have a few shining spots in the game. Not only did the Cheese go on a 17-5 run over the last six minutes, 30 seconds of the first quarter, but senior standout Mitch Tordoff broke nearly every Division 2 shooting record he could.
Tordoff broke five state records and tied two others over the weekend, including 3-pointers made in both a game and a tournament, 3-pointers attempted, free throws made, and total points.
"I'm so proud of him. It's so awesome to see that happen, because I know how hard he's worked. And not just for the state tournament, but to just be a better basketball player and a better person," said Mitche's brother, sophomore Bryan Tordoff.
"It just motivates me even more because I get to see how the best do it. I will have a standard to work up to."
Murphy said Tordoff's leadership and accomplishments in his four years speak volumes, and that the example he set for his teammates was great.
"Even with the loss and if I hadn't broke the records, I would look back on this and say that this is one of the greatest things I will ever accomplish," Mitch Tordoff said.
Jake Grinnell scored Monroe's first basket of the game, knocking down a wide-open 3 from the right wing.
Grinnell went on to score 17 points and pull down 4 rebounds.
"I can't be happier for Jake Grinnell. He just busts his butt. He's always going against guys that are bigger, that can always jump a little higher, are always a little quicker than him - but that's what Monroe basketball is all about," Murphy said.
"It still comes down to that guys have to play with a great amount of heart, and Jake does that."
Grinnell hit two 3s, and gave the Cheesemakers a third scoring option to go along with the Tordoffs.
"Shots just started falling, so I knew it would be a good day," Grinnell said. "I played my game yesterday, and stepped up my game today."
Mitch Tordoff said he figured his classmate would have a big game in the final contest of his career.
"I talked to Jake on the ride home (after the semifinal game), and he said, 'Let's leave it all out on the floor.' He brought his A game today. He has been working hard all season and he was looking for that 3. He shot well," he said.
In the second quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran took off against the short-stacked Cheesemakers.
Led by Davis' 10 points, the Vikings went 10-for-12 from the field in the frame, including knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to close out the half. The final 3 came from P.J. Marion, who swished his eighth point of the frame just tenths of a second before the buzzer rang to give the Vikings a 34-29 lead at the break.
"He came out of nowhere. Where was he on the scouting report? He scored 17 points, and that is well above his average," Murphy said of Marion, who averaged 6.4 points per game.
To start the second half, the Vikings got a hoop by 6-6 senior center Andrew Rumler to take a seven-point lead.
Michael Barrett found Grinnell alone under the hoop a minute later and Mitch Tordoff connected on a 3 to bring the score to 36-34. Monroe tied it up at 38 with 4:20 left in the third, but never recaptured the lead.
By the end of the third quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran held a 53-43 advantage.
The Cheesemakers tried valiantly in the fourth to get the game to swing back into their favor, but a hot-shooting Vikings squad continued to rebound and put the ball in the hoop down low. Wisconsin Lutheran outrebounded Monroe 38-22 and outscored the Cheese 42-10 in the paint, including 18 second-chance points to Monroe's 4.
"I don't know if I should feel mad, or sad, or angry. We just got second," senior forward Zach Rast said.
The Cheese got the score as close as 66-60, as Bryan and Mitch Tordoff nailed back-to-back 3s with 2:27 left.
"Our guys put forth a great effort, but we couldn't do enough to get it to a two-possession game," Murphy said.
However, Wisconsin Lutheran hit 12 of 19 free throws in the final frame, including the last six attempts in the final minute.
"We came into the state tournament on a mission to win, and we won one. To take home two trophies in three years is pretty good," Murphy said.
"And I am so proud of this team. We lost five of our top six players from last year, but these guys got it. They gelled so well and they were one of the best defensive teams we've ever had. I'm really going to miss our six seniors."
Monroe ends the season with a record of 18-8, a third straight Badger South conference record, a third straight state tournament appearance and a first-team all-state player (Mitch Tordoff).
"State championship game, my senior year, I'm just so happy for our guys for what we've accomplished this year. We'll look back on it and realize we've accomplished something great and that most teams don't get to experience," Tordoff said.
"(Wisconsin Lutheran has) a lot of weapons," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said after his team's 79-67 loss Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center in Madison. "That's why they're state champions."
The Vikings (24-2) came into the game boasting 6-foot, 4-inch Flavien Davis, along with several other forwards and centers that tower over nearly everyone on Monroe's roster.
"They are big, and that hurt us. We don't have those 6-8 guys who can jump out of a gym. We'd like to, but we don't. We have to play with what we've got," Murphy said.
All season long, 5-foot-9 senior guard Mitch McArdle guarded the best player the opposing team puts on the floor - and he typically shuts them down. Davis may have been the best of the litter, and finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds Saturday.
"(Flavien's) a really good player and I played like crap," McArdle said. "I just didn't do a very good job. I should have played better defense on him. It's frustrating going out that way. He's a really good player, but he shouldn't have scored that many points. I feel like I let the guys down."
Murphy had different feelings on the matter.
"Flavien's the real deal. He wants to showcase something. Big-time players like the big stage and Davis is one of the best we've seen. To do what he did on McArdle ... there's a reason he's going to play Division 1 (college) somewhere," he said.
Monroe did have a few shining spots in the game. Not only did the Cheese go on a 17-5 run over the last six minutes, 30 seconds of the first quarter, but senior standout Mitch Tordoff broke nearly every Division 2 shooting record he could.
Tordoff broke five state records and tied two others over the weekend, including 3-pointers made in both a game and a tournament, 3-pointers attempted, free throws made, and total points.
"I'm so proud of him. It's so awesome to see that happen, because I know how hard he's worked. And not just for the state tournament, but to just be a better basketball player and a better person," said Mitche's brother, sophomore Bryan Tordoff.
"It just motivates me even more because I get to see how the best do it. I will have a standard to work up to."
Murphy said Tordoff's leadership and accomplishments in his four years speak volumes, and that the example he set for his teammates was great.
"Even with the loss and if I hadn't broke the records, I would look back on this and say that this is one of the greatest things I will ever accomplish," Mitch Tordoff said.
Jake Grinnell scored Monroe's first basket of the game, knocking down a wide-open 3 from the right wing.
Grinnell went on to score 17 points and pull down 4 rebounds.
"I can't be happier for Jake Grinnell. He just busts his butt. He's always going against guys that are bigger, that can always jump a little higher, are always a little quicker than him - but that's what Monroe basketball is all about," Murphy said.
"It still comes down to that guys have to play with a great amount of heart, and Jake does that."
Grinnell hit two 3s, and gave the Cheesemakers a third scoring option to go along with the Tordoffs.
"Shots just started falling, so I knew it would be a good day," Grinnell said. "I played my game yesterday, and stepped up my game today."
Mitch Tordoff said he figured his classmate would have a big game in the final contest of his career.
"I talked to Jake on the ride home (after the semifinal game), and he said, 'Let's leave it all out on the floor.' He brought his A game today. He has been working hard all season and he was looking for that 3. He shot well," he said.
In the second quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran took off against the short-stacked Cheesemakers.
Led by Davis' 10 points, the Vikings went 10-for-12 from the field in the frame, including knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to close out the half. The final 3 came from P.J. Marion, who swished his eighth point of the frame just tenths of a second before the buzzer rang to give the Vikings a 34-29 lead at the break.
"He came out of nowhere. Where was he on the scouting report? He scored 17 points, and that is well above his average," Murphy said of Marion, who averaged 6.4 points per game.
To start the second half, the Vikings got a hoop by 6-6 senior center Andrew Rumler to take a seven-point lead.
Michael Barrett found Grinnell alone under the hoop a minute later and Mitch Tordoff connected on a 3 to bring the score to 36-34. Monroe tied it up at 38 with 4:20 left in the third, but never recaptured the lead.
By the end of the third quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran held a 53-43 advantage.
The Cheesemakers tried valiantly in the fourth to get the game to swing back into their favor, but a hot-shooting Vikings squad continued to rebound and put the ball in the hoop down low. Wisconsin Lutheran outrebounded Monroe 38-22 and outscored the Cheese 42-10 in the paint, including 18 second-chance points to Monroe's 4.
"I don't know if I should feel mad, or sad, or angry. We just got second," senior forward Zach Rast said.
The Cheese got the score as close as 66-60, as Bryan and Mitch Tordoff nailed back-to-back 3s with 2:27 left.
"Our guys put forth a great effort, but we couldn't do enough to get it to a two-possession game," Murphy said.
However, Wisconsin Lutheran hit 12 of 19 free throws in the final frame, including the last six attempts in the final minute.
"We came into the state tournament on a mission to win, and we won one. To take home two trophies in three years is pretty good," Murphy said.
"And I am so proud of this team. We lost five of our top six players from last year, but these guys got it. They gelled so well and they were one of the best defensive teams we've ever had. I'm really going to miss our six seniors."
Monroe ends the season with a record of 18-8, a third straight Badger South conference record, a third straight state tournament appearance and a first-team all-state player (Mitch Tordoff).
"State championship game, my senior year, I'm just so happy for our guys for what we've accomplished this year. We'll look back on it and realize we've accomplished something great and that most teams don't get to experience," Tordoff said.
