MONROE - Basketball coaches always preach about free throw shooting being about repetition and rhythm.
The Monroe boys basketball team struggled to find its comfort zone from the foul line Tuesday night and lost 52-41 to Monona Grove.
The Cheesemakers (8-10, 3-7 Badger South) made just 3 of 12 free throws in the final 2 minutes, 15 seconds and shot just 48 percent (12 of 25) from the line for the game.
"Free throws are always big," said Monroe junior Alex Barenklau, who scored a team-high 10 points and was 0-for-4 from the foul line in the final 2 minutes.
"You can never be too good shooting free throws. I missed a ton of them. We would have been right there with them if we would have made our free throws. I have to put them in no matter what."
Monona Grove junior Brett Percy drilled a 3-pointer well beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter to give the Silver Eagles a 33-32 lead. That 3-pointer kick-started a 22-7 run from which the Cheesemakers couldn't recover.
Monroe coach Pat Murphy said the team works on free throw shooting in practice and players make them. The Cheesemakers were also called for two offensive fouls midway through the fourth quarter that took away possessions.
"They didn't have any problems," Murphy said of the Silver Eagles' shooting free throws. "You can analyze it any way you want. We didn't make enough breaks. They made more plays than we did in the fourth quarter."
Barenklau, who scored nine of his 10 points in the first half, agreed with Murphy's assessment.
"One of our goals is to win the fourth quarter," Barenklau said. "Obviously we didn't do that. If we would have won the fourth quarter, we would have won the game."
The Cheesemakers shot just 4 of 18 in the second half and finished at 33.3 percent (13 of 39).
"We scored only 41 points," Murphy said. "It's tough to win when you are struggling scoring. We have to keep battling. I don't know what other choice you have. That's what practice is for."
Early on, Barenklau had the hot hand as he hit a jumper and scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers a 6-2 lead. Juniors Brian Schneider and Trent Wyssbrod each knocked down 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Silver Eagles rallied when junior Ben Crawford converted two three-point plays early in the second quarter to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 16-14.
Barenklau hit a 3-pointer to give Monroe a 21-14 lead with 4:56 left in the second quarter, but MG senior Ian Kirkpatrick answered by drilling a 3-pointer to help the Silver Eagles tie the game at 25 at halftime.
Schneider and Wyssbrod each scored eight points. Senior Alex Dahlk scored four points and had five rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. The Cheesemakers finished with 14 offensive rebounds.
"If we didn't get that then we would have really been in trouble," Murphy said.
"In basketball, you have to be able to play both ends of the floor. That has been something we have struggled with a little bit. We have to play both ends of the floor for four quarters."
The Monroe boys basketball team struggled to find its comfort zone from the foul line Tuesday night and lost 52-41 to Monona Grove.
The Cheesemakers (8-10, 3-7 Badger South) made just 3 of 12 free throws in the final 2 minutes, 15 seconds and shot just 48 percent (12 of 25) from the line for the game.
"Free throws are always big," said Monroe junior Alex Barenklau, who scored a team-high 10 points and was 0-for-4 from the foul line in the final 2 minutes.
"You can never be too good shooting free throws. I missed a ton of them. We would have been right there with them if we would have made our free throws. I have to put them in no matter what."
Monona Grove junior Brett Percy drilled a 3-pointer well beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter to give the Silver Eagles a 33-32 lead. That 3-pointer kick-started a 22-7 run from which the Cheesemakers couldn't recover.
Monroe coach Pat Murphy said the team works on free throw shooting in practice and players make them. The Cheesemakers were also called for two offensive fouls midway through the fourth quarter that took away possessions.
"They didn't have any problems," Murphy said of the Silver Eagles' shooting free throws. "You can analyze it any way you want. We didn't make enough breaks. They made more plays than we did in the fourth quarter."
Barenklau, who scored nine of his 10 points in the first half, agreed with Murphy's assessment.
"One of our goals is to win the fourth quarter," Barenklau said. "Obviously we didn't do that. If we would have won the fourth quarter, we would have won the game."
The Cheesemakers shot just 4 of 18 in the second half and finished at 33.3 percent (13 of 39).
"We scored only 41 points," Murphy said. "It's tough to win when you are struggling scoring. We have to keep battling. I don't know what other choice you have. That's what practice is for."
Early on, Barenklau had the hot hand as he hit a jumper and scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers a 6-2 lead. Juniors Brian Schneider and Trent Wyssbrod each knocked down 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Silver Eagles rallied when junior Ben Crawford converted two three-point plays early in the second quarter to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 16-14.
Barenklau hit a 3-pointer to give Monroe a 21-14 lead with 4:56 left in the second quarter, but MG senior Ian Kirkpatrick answered by drilling a 3-pointer to help the Silver Eagles tie the game at 25 at halftime.
Schneider and Wyssbrod each scored eight points. Senior Alex Dahlk scored four points and had five rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. The Cheesemakers finished with 14 offensive rebounds.
"If we didn't get that then we would have really been in trouble," Murphy said.
"In basketball, you have to be able to play both ends of the floor. That has been something we have struggled with a little bit. We have to play both ends of the floor for four quarters."
