MONROE - With leading scorer Ben Latimer forced to the bench on crutches after a sprained ankle, the Monroe boys basketball team didn't panic.
Monroe sophomore Carter Sawdey scored 10 points and sophomore Alex Tordoff added nine points to help the Cheesemakers grind out a 41-37 win over Waunakee Thursday.
"We knew we could do it," Sawdey said. "We had to step up and make shots. We couldn't make excuses without him (Latimer). We still had to win the game."
Monroe (6-7, 2-3 Badger South) had lost its last six games against Waunakee. Monroe coach Pat Murphy was excited to see his team make plays down the stretch to pull out the win.
"We obviously wanted Ben in there," Murphy said. "It's kind of the next guy up. It's a community effort. It took everyone doing something. Some people may say it was an ugly game. I thought it was a thing of beauty. There were a lot of loose balls. I thought we got more of the 50-50 balls than Waunakee did."
Latimer scored a team-high 12 points and had seven rebounds. He sprained his ankle trying to make a putback before the buzzer at the end of the second quarter. Latimer started the third quarter, but left the game with 3 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third to ice his ankle with a trainer. He came back to the bench on crutches.
The Cheesemakers dug in on defense and relied on others to step up and make plays. Monroe senior Logan Weckerly drilled a 3-pointer with 3:42 left to tie the game at 35. The Cheesemakers made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 3:17 to seal the win.
Waunakee senior Troy Laufenberg missed a jumper with 4.7 seconds to go that would have given the Warriors (7-6, 4-1 Badger North) the lead. Weckerly made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Cheesemakers a 39-27 lead. Tordoff came up with a steal and made two free throws with 2.5 seconds to go to ice the victory.
"We wanted to keep everything in front of us so they had to dribble a few times to get it up the court," Tordoff said. "I guess it was just a lazy pass and I picked it off. We really worked hard on defense to get the rebounds. I thought we fought hard and boxed out. We got the rebounds and were able to win the game.
"Waunakee is one of the top teams in the Badger North. We have proven we can beat one of the top teams in the North."
The Cheesemakers went 11 of 19 from the free-throw line, but made 6 of 8 in the final 3 minutes.
"We always want to make free throws in pressure situations," Sawdey said. "That was big. It helped seal the game for us."
Waunakee freshman Mitch Listau scored a team-high 10 points. Waunakee senior Alex Helt added eight points, but the Cheesemakers shut him out in the first half.
Murphy said the Cheesemakers wanted to take Helt away from the Warriors.
"I thought we did a good job of following the scouting report and try taking him away," Murphy said. "I thought we did a good job of grinding it out in the second half."
Monroe sophomore Carter Sawdey scored 10 points and sophomore Alex Tordoff added nine points to help the Cheesemakers grind out a 41-37 win over Waunakee Thursday.
"We knew we could do it," Sawdey said. "We had to step up and make shots. We couldn't make excuses without him (Latimer). We still had to win the game."
Monroe (6-7, 2-3 Badger South) had lost its last six games against Waunakee. Monroe coach Pat Murphy was excited to see his team make plays down the stretch to pull out the win.
"We obviously wanted Ben in there," Murphy said. "It's kind of the next guy up. It's a community effort. It took everyone doing something. Some people may say it was an ugly game. I thought it was a thing of beauty. There were a lot of loose balls. I thought we got more of the 50-50 balls than Waunakee did."
Latimer scored a team-high 12 points and had seven rebounds. He sprained his ankle trying to make a putback before the buzzer at the end of the second quarter. Latimer started the third quarter, but left the game with 3 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third to ice his ankle with a trainer. He came back to the bench on crutches.
The Cheesemakers dug in on defense and relied on others to step up and make plays. Monroe senior Logan Weckerly drilled a 3-pointer with 3:42 left to tie the game at 35. The Cheesemakers made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 3:17 to seal the win.
Waunakee senior Troy Laufenberg missed a jumper with 4.7 seconds to go that would have given the Warriors (7-6, 4-1 Badger North) the lead. Weckerly made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Cheesemakers a 39-27 lead. Tordoff came up with a steal and made two free throws with 2.5 seconds to go to ice the victory.
"We wanted to keep everything in front of us so they had to dribble a few times to get it up the court," Tordoff said. "I guess it was just a lazy pass and I picked it off. We really worked hard on defense to get the rebounds. I thought we fought hard and boxed out. We got the rebounds and were able to win the game.
"Waunakee is one of the top teams in the Badger North. We have proven we can beat one of the top teams in the North."
The Cheesemakers went 11 of 19 from the free-throw line, but made 6 of 8 in the final 3 minutes.
"We always want to make free throws in pressure situations," Sawdey said. "That was big. It helped seal the game for us."
Waunakee freshman Mitch Listau scored a team-high 10 points. Waunakee senior Alex Helt added eight points, but the Cheesemakers shut him out in the first half.
Murphy said the Cheesemakers wanted to take Helt away from the Warriors.
"I thought we did a good job of following the scouting report and try taking him away," Murphy said. "I thought we did a good job of grinding it out in the second half."
