MONROE - Basketball is a game of momentum swings. Tuesday night in Monroe, spectators witnessed a couple of huge shifts in which New Glarus finished on top, 74-67.
The Glarner Knight fanbase can thank junior guard Jaden Kreklow for adding some glimmer to the show.
"He's a pretty crafty kid," said Monroe head coach Brian Basset of the junior, who scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. "Kreklow is really, really good, and the way he creates for everybody on his team is amazing."
The two teams traded buckets early, but it was the Glarner Knights that found the first real stretch of momentum in the first half. Over a seven-minute stretch New Glarus outscored Monroe 14-4, including a couple of coast-to-coast steals and hoops by junior guards Kreklow and Zach Feller.
"I feel like we gave away some points that are uncharacteristic of our team. We got careless with the ball," Bassett said. "Something we do every single day in practice is bounce pass into the post no matter who is down there. When we're trying to throw overhead passes into the post and they're getting deflected away that's where I get frustrated."
A Dagon Rach 3-pointer helped spark a Monroe counter-attack. The triple, which came at the 9 minute, 26 second mark in the first half with the Cheesemakers trailing 16-8, opened the scoring on what would be a 24-2 run.
"We put things together probably the best we have all year," Bassett said. "Guys were playing very unselfish and we were getting into a bit of a rhythm."
The Monroe players weren't just getting it done on offense - the defense stifled the normally hot-handed Glarner Knights during the stretch.
"We've played these guys enough times we know that they can shoot. Once they start hitting there's no stopping them," Bassett said.
New Glarus went nine minutes between points before junior Trevor Gassman picked up a steal and a hoop with 1:28 to play in the half. That cut Monroe's lead to 32-20, if only briefly. Just moments later Monroe junior Nick Schumacher was tripped in the lane and hit a circus shot and added the free throw for good measure.
"Guys started getting into foul trouble and I had to go to some of our reserves," Bassett said. "That didn't go as well as I hoped."
Gassman then hit back-to-back 3s to close out the half, trimming the one-time 15-point Monroe lead to just nine at 35-26 at the break.
"Trevor gave us a huge spark off the bench. He had two fouls and came in and got a steal and a layup and a couple of 3s. That was exactly what we needed going into halftime," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said.
New Glarus was 0-for-12 to open the night from downtown before Gassman's pair of triples, something Sysko was noticeably not happy about.
"We were trying to live by the 3. We weren't getting a piece of the paint on offense, and we need to do that in order to be successful," Sysko said. "We never stopped shooting the 3, I guess, but there are good 3s and bad 3s. We like our 3s to come inside-out and I thought we were settling for some 3s that we didn't have to take in that first half."
Slowly but surely, the Glarner Knights sliced away at the deficit - one 3-pointer at a time. New Glarus hit 8 triples in the half, four of which came off the hands of Kreklow, who led all scorers with 29 points.
"I thought we came out with more energy in the second half, especially at the defensive end," Sysko said. "Our transition game is our bread-and-butter and that's what we like to use to give us a spark."
New Glarus regained the lead with exactly 10 minutes to play in the contest on the second of Fellers three 3s in the frame. Feller finished with 18 points.
Monroe responded, scoring the next six points and the two teams traded baskets until just under three minutes to play. That's when foul trouble finally caught up to the Cheesemakers. Shooting bonus free throws down the stretch, the Knights hit 8 of 10 shots from the stripe to close out the game.
"Down the stretch we did a good job at the line to keep it at a two-possession game or send it to a three-possession game down the stretch," Sysko said.
One of the bright spots was Kade King coming off the bench. The 6-6 forward used his muscle deep in the paint to bring down both offensive and defensive board.
"My biggest disappointment was we didn't look for him more in the post," Bassett said.
King finished the night with 18 points. Schumacher scored 15, Brayden Zettle notched 13, Hunter Ward had 7 and Rach added 6.
For New Glarus, after Feller's 18 and Kreklow's 29, Gassman had 12 and post player Cullen Brooks added 9.
"Monroe is a great test for us. They play in a bigger conference and you can tell with the physicality that they play with," Sysko said.
Monroe (2-2, 1-0 Badger South) hits the hardwood again on Friday with a conference game at Oregon (3-0, 1-0). New Glarus (3-0) has a week off before traveling to Dodgeville (1-2). The Glarner Knights have been on the road all year and don't host a game until Dec. 21 against Pecatonica.
The Glarner Knight fanbase can thank junior guard Jaden Kreklow for adding some glimmer to the show.
"He's a pretty crafty kid," said Monroe head coach Brian Basset of the junior, who scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. "Kreklow is really, really good, and the way he creates for everybody on his team is amazing."
The two teams traded buckets early, but it was the Glarner Knights that found the first real stretch of momentum in the first half. Over a seven-minute stretch New Glarus outscored Monroe 14-4, including a couple of coast-to-coast steals and hoops by junior guards Kreklow and Zach Feller.
"I feel like we gave away some points that are uncharacteristic of our team. We got careless with the ball," Bassett said. "Something we do every single day in practice is bounce pass into the post no matter who is down there. When we're trying to throw overhead passes into the post and they're getting deflected away that's where I get frustrated."
A Dagon Rach 3-pointer helped spark a Monroe counter-attack. The triple, which came at the 9 minute, 26 second mark in the first half with the Cheesemakers trailing 16-8, opened the scoring on what would be a 24-2 run.
"We put things together probably the best we have all year," Bassett said. "Guys were playing very unselfish and we were getting into a bit of a rhythm."
The Monroe players weren't just getting it done on offense - the defense stifled the normally hot-handed Glarner Knights during the stretch.
"We've played these guys enough times we know that they can shoot. Once they start hitting there's no stopping them," Bassett said.
New Glarus went nine minutes between points before junior Trevor Gassman picked up a steal and a hoop with 1:28 to play in the half. That cut Monroe's lead to 32-20, if only briefly. Just moments later Monroe junior Nick Schumacher was tripped in the lane and hit a circus shot and added the free throw for good measure.
"Guys started getting into foul trouble and I had to go to some of our reserves," Bassett said. "That didn't go as well as I hoped."
Gassman then hit back-to-back 3s to close out the half, trimming the one-time 15-point Monroe lead to just nine at 35-26 at the break.
"Trevor gave us a huge spark off the bench. He had two fouls and came in and got a steal and a layup and a couple of 3s. That was exactly what we needed going into halftime," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said.
New Glarus was 0-for-12 to open the night from downtown before Gassman's pair of triples, something Sysko was noticeably not happy about.
"We were trying to live by the 3. We weren't getting a piece of the paint on offense, and we need to do that in order to be successful," Sysko said. "We never stopped shooting the 3, I guess, but there are good 3s and bad 3s. We like our 3s to come inside-out and I thought we were settling for some 3s that we didn't have to take in that first half."
Slowly but surely, the Glarner Knights sliced away at the deficit - one 3-pointer at a time. New Glarus hit 8 triples in the half, four of which came off the hands of Kreklow, who led all scorers with 29 points.
"I thought we came out with more energy in the second half, especially at the defensive end," Sysko said. "Our transition game is our bread-and-butter and that's what we like to use to give us a spark."
New Glarus regained the lead with exactly 10 minutes to play in the contest on the second of Fellers three 3s in the frame. Feller finished with 18 points.
Monroe responded, scoring the next six points and the two teams traded baskets until just under three minutes to play. That's when foul trouble finally caught up to the Cheesemakers. Shooting bonus free throws down the stretch, the Knights hit 8 of 10 shots from the stripe to close out the game.
"Down the stretch we did a good job at the line to keep it at a two-possession game or send it to a three-possession game down the stretch," Sysko said.
One of the bright spots was Kade King coming off the bench. The 6-6 forward used his muscle deep in the paint to bring down both offensive and defensive board.
"My biggest disappointment was we didn't look for him more in the post," Bassett said.
King finished the night with 18 points. Schumacher scored 15, Brayden Zettle notched 13, Hunter Ward had 7 and Rach added 6.
For New Glarus, after Feller's 18 and Kreklow's 29, Gassman had 12 and post player Cullen Brooks added 9.
"Monroe is a great test for us. They play in a bigger conference and you can tell with the physicality that they play with," Sysko said.
Monroe (2-2, 1-0 Badger South) hits the hardwood again on Friday with a conference game at Oregon (3-0, 1-0). New Glarus (3-0) has a week off before traveling to Dodgeville (1-2). The Glarner Knights have been on the road all year and don't host a game until Dec. 21 against Pecatonica.
