NEW GLARUS — While the Glarner Knights are trying to find some consistency on the court as the season winds down, the Cheesemakers are functioning as a well-oiled machine. Monroe (10-1), ranked sixth in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll in Division 2, opened the nonconference game on a 13-0 run and never looked back, winning 83-51.
“I just can’t say enough about how well our guys are sharing the ball — and that’s what it all boils down to,” Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. “Our team’s sharing the ball as well as any team I’ve ever been around. I love how they snap the ball around. They’re very unselfish. We’ve got guys getting looks for layups and they are snapping out for another guy that has a wide-open look, who snaps it to another guy who has the best look. It’s crazy, and my hat’s off to them.”
The Cheesemakers brought their A-game to both the offense and defense from the beginning. With three 3-pointers in the first 4:24 of the game, Monroe was able to build its double-digit lead. Meanwhile, New Glarus struggled to get off a shot per possession, let alone an open look. Carter Siegenthaler finally broke the egg at the 13:17 mark with a 3-pointer.
Carson Leuzinger had the hot hand for Monroe in the first half, scoring 13 points. JT Seagreaves and Cade Meyer each had 7 for the Cheesemakers, which hit seven combined 3s and went into halftime holding a 35-23 advantage.
Bassett was just as impressed with the distribution of the ball from Leuzinger and Max Golembiewski, his two guards.
“In our last game they had 17 assists and no turnovers, and tonight they had 17 or 18 assists and two or three turnovers. I just can’t say enough about our lead guards — and then we’ve got (Tyler) Matley just doing all the dirty work,” Bassett said.
In the second half, the Knights picked up the pace a bit on offense. Mason Martinson scored 14 of his 16 points in the frame, while Dain Walter worked in the post to 15 total points. However, Monroe’s offense also picked up, thanks in part to the stellar work of UW-Green Bay commit Cade Meyer, who had 22 points alone in the period. Monroe outscored New Glarus 48-28 in the second half.
“We spotted them 13 and were down 12 at half,” New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. “I was happy with how we competed in the first half. Even in that second half, I thought we contested those 3s.”
Seagreaves also added to the scoring binge, dropping 17 points in the second half. Both Seagreaves and Meyer hit three 3s in the half and four in the game. Both stand more than 6-6 in height, which brings complications to any team defending them, let alone the undersized Knights.
“Our focus was to keep them away from the basket and they hit eight 3s. I mean, Meyer got going and JT got going — we had hands in their face. Credit to them. We came into the game saying we had to keep them out of the paint and make them knock down those shots — and they knocked them down,” Sysko said.
It was the third time this season that Monroe has gone over the 80-point threshold, and sixth time over 70 points. The Cheesemakers have only allowed one team to breach 70 this year, and that was an 82-77 slugfest against Milton. Monroe is outscoring teams this year 72-56 on average, with Meyer (20.2), Seagreaves (16.0) and Leuzinger (16.0) all averaging double figures. Meyer is 109 points from the 1,000-point career milestone.
Monroe has just three regular season games remaining — Feb. 1 vs. Oregon, Feb. 5 at Beaver Dam and Feb. 12 against McFarland. The regional seeding meeting is slated for this upcoming weekend.
Two days before the Monroe game, New Glarus (12-7) defeated Cambridge 79-51. The Knights led by 28 at halftime. Walter led New Glarus with 19 points, while Martinson had 17 and Breckin Faber 9.
