MONROE — The boys basketball season has been up and down this season, to paraphrase. One game, they’ll knock off the league leader, the next game, a 20-point lead fizzles in the final 15 minutes.

The rollercoaster ride has done little to inspire those in the crowd. That, however, might have changed for good.

In Monroe’s 66-43 win over Watertown Feb. 15, the student section showed signs of life for the first time in years. Then, in the waning minutes, an extra hustle effort by sophomore Cade Meyer led to a steal and a highlight-reel windmill dunk — negated by a borderline out-of-bounds call. The slam raised decibel levels to a height not heard from the stands for some time at MHS. Finally, senior Donavan Gertsch sank a floater from the baseline with 11 seconds left, which again ignited the Cheesemaker faithful.

“We haven’t heard this gym that loud in six or seven years,” Monroe head coach Brian Bassett said. “You maybe even have to go back to 2011 when we had (Michael) Barrett and (Brian) Tordoff and they were really bringing the energy. That team was 22-3.”

Gertsch is a reserve player that typically is one of the last players off Monroe’s bench. The student section began chanting his name with four minutes left, and during the stoppage of play after Meyer’s dunk, and with the score in Monroe’s favor 62-39, Bassett sent in his 6-foot-4 senior.

“The student section was fantastic. I loved how they were — for the most part — positive,” Bassett said, adding that with the postseason coming up, having a crowd large in numbers and volume can have a big impact on the game. “We would love to get a little following (in the postseason). The girls have a pretty good following right now because they have been so successful. It would be nice to get both groups going and getting support for both teams. The girls are really, really good again, and I hope that we can get a crowd going wherever we go in the playoffs.”

The Cheesemakers, playing in their 21st game of the season, played arguably their best game of the year. There was no 10-minute lull where the defense turned into a sea of sieves and the offense forgot how to dribble, pass and shoot. Monroe played consistent all night.

“Our coaches talk about playing a complete game, and that’s exactly what we did. We executed. And that’s why the score is the way it was — we didn’t let up,” senior Kade King said.

With a starting five consisting of two seniors, two freshmen and a sophomore, Monroe looked as polished as ever from the start. Michael Lange, a lanky 6-4 guard/forward for Monroe, spent the first five minutes of the game igniting the offense. The Cheesemakers would go on to never trail, and slowly built a manageable lead, thanks in large part to a defensive scheme that kept Watertown out of rhythm all night.

“I thought the first half we really took them out of what they wanted to do, and that was important to do. The guys really followed the scouting report that (coaches Ken) Gratz and (Jake) Grinnell put together. We had them scouted about as good as you can,” Bassett said.

Monroe took a 13-5 lead with 8:50 to play in the first after Hunter Huschitt buried a 3 from the left corner. Less than four minutes later the Cheesemakers led 26-10.

“This is how we played at Oregon,” Bassett said. “It’s a good step forward. We made some progress.”

The home-court advantage at halftime was 36-20, and a 12-6 run over the first seven minutes of the second half stifled any thoughts of Watertown closing the gap. Monroe’s largest lead reached 27 points with 5:43 left after a pair of Kade King free throws.

“I thought our defense was just spectacular,” Bassett said. 

King finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points with 11 rebounds and two crowd-pleasing blocks. Nick Schumacher scored 14 points and dazzled throughout the night driving to the paint. 

“It’s towards the end of my basketball career, so my confidence has to be high,” Schumacher said.

Lange scored eight, Meyer six and six other Cheesemakers scored in the game. 

“This is where you really need your seniors to step up. We’re only going to go as far as our seniors will take us,” Bassett said. “I thought they played really well tonight. I thought Schumacher played with a lot of energy and urgency, and I thought Lange did too. They were really good.”

Monroe hit just two 3-pointers, were a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and grabbed a collective 37 rebounds. From the field, Monroe was 30 of 48 (62.5 percent), including a 13-for-20 mark in the second half. While the shooting was brilliant, Monroe also had 19 turnovers, one of the few parts of the game MHS needs to clean up before the postseason begins.

“We were really clicking on all cylinders. When we get all of our guys involved, great things happen,” King said.

Watertown was just 13 of 45 from the field in the game (28.8 percent) and had 11 turnovers. The Goslings also made 12 trips to the free throw line, compared to Monroe’s two.

“We beat them by 23 and Cade had a windmill. It’s a nice one to end on, that’s for sure,” Schumacher said of his final regular season home game.