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Cheese slow out of the gate, but advance
Jefferson held a 32-29 lead at halftime, but Monroe wins by 19 to advance in D2
Kamrin Gerber-Reamer
Monroe’s Kamrin Gerber-Reamer tries to shake a defender off the dribble. - photo by Natalie Dillon, Fox Tales

MONROE — The Monroe Cheesemakers started the boys basketball postseason with a 74-55 win over No. 9 seed Jefferson on March 4 at Monroe. 

The No. 8 seeded Cheesemakers (17-8) got all they could handle from the Eagles in the first half in defeating Jefferson for the third time this season. Jefferson took a 15-14 lead with 9:49 remaining in the first half before sophomore JT Meyer scored on a basket inside to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:10 left. JT Meyer’s basket with under 20 seconds left before halftime pulled the Cheesemakers to within 30-29, but the Eagles scored at the buzzer to take a 32-29 lead at the break. 

JJ Meyer
Monroe’s JJ Meyer had 12 points. - photo by Natalie Dillon, Fox Tales

The second half was a completely different story as the Cheesemakers took control with a 20-2 run out of the gate. Junior Mekhi Brown scored a big basket with 14:45 to give the Cheesemakers a 37-32 lead. Later, a steal and layup by Brown put Monroe up 47-34 with 12:02 left. 

Junior Miles Versnik scored on a back-door cut and another basket to give the Cheesemakers a 55-38 lead with 6:20 remaining. Junior Marcus Ott’s short jumper increased the lead to 23 at 65-42, effectively sealing the game.

Monroe coach Brian Bassett said the Cheesemakers’ 45-23 scoring advantage in the second half was the result of a different defensive approach than the first period. 

Mekhi Brown
Mekhi Brown goes up for a shot on the block in the first half. He led the Cheesemakers in the game with 24 points. He’s the team’s leading scorer this season, averaging nearly 16 points per game. - photo by Mark Evenstad

“The difference is, we didn’t guard them as hard in the first half and we didn’t have ‘high hands’ for their shooters. We also got switched out a couple of times when we weren’t supposed to be switching. Once we shored that up, we were pretty good,” said Bassett.

Brown, who had a game-high 24 points, said the Cheesemakers felt a sense of urgency to begin the second half. 

“Honestly, it’s a playoff game. It’s win or go home,” Brown said. “We started off slow. I felt like I had to get the team going (until) we had the energy.” 

kamrin mekhi
Monroe’s Kamrin Gerber-Reamer and Mekhi Brown wait for a rebound to come off the rim in the second half of the Cheesemakers’ 74-55 win over Jefferson in the first round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs on March 4. - photo by Mark Evenstad

JT Meyer and junior JJ Meyer each scored 12 points for the Cheesemakers. Ott chipped in with 11 points. The Cheesemakers improved to 17-8 with the win. 

Monroe advanced to the regional semifinal to face the No. 1 seeded and third-ranked Mount Horeb Vikings on March 7 at Mount Horeb. The winner advances to the regional championship March 8 against either McFarland or Stoughton.