MONROE — Both Darlington and Monroe are ranked in the state in their respective divisions. Though the enrollments of the two schools varies into the hundreds, the talent on the basketball floor is pretty even. In fact, most recently Darlington has had the upper hand.

“Two summers ago — because we didn’t have a league this year — Darlington won the seventh and eighth grade league, the JV league and the varsity league,” Cheesemakers coach Brian Bassett said. “We had to prove a point that we’re still good, and we can’t come in here thinking that we’re going to crush them just because we’re a bigger school. They are unbelievably talented, and even in Division 2 they would be one heck of a team.

The teams match up well, with neither team gaining an edge in overall size and length. That meant the game would come down to execution — which is exactly what happened when the two teams squared off in a nonconference game Jan. 4. It was just Monroe’s second game of the truncated season, while the Redbirds already had 10 in the bag, but the Cheesemakers picked up the 67-57 overtime victory.

“Again, hat’s off to that team. They just grind and play the game the right way,” Bassett said of Darlington.

The game was fairly square all night, with Darlington leading by as much as six in the first half, but a late surge gave Monroe the 29-25 advantage at halftime. 

“I like those guys,” Bassett said of Darlington. “They are highly skilled, very motivated and I wish them the best of luck.”

Monroe’s lead grew to as much as seven early in the second half, but the Redbirds went on a 12-5 run to go up 46-44 with 6:33 left to play. 

A 3-pointer by Max Golembiewski gave Monroe a 1-point advantage at the 6-minute mark, but Carter Lancaster hit a jumper to put Darlington back on top. Down the stretch in the second half, Monroe went just 4 of 8 from the free throw line, which, instead of icing the game left the Redbirds within striking distance. 

Darlington’s Cayden Rankin took a lazy pass from Cade Meyer coast to coast for a layup to make it a 1-point game with 56 seconds to play. 

Then, with just 13 seconds left in regulation, Lancaster scored on a putback to even the score at 53 and send it to overtime.

“Carter was limping around. He was hurting tonight,” Darlington coach Tom Uppena said, while suggesting other players need to step their games up a bit more. “We just need better leadership on the court for the whole game. We’ve got to have guys that go out there and take charge and can take over a game and get buckets when we need it.”

The overtime period was a much different ballgame, however. The Cheesemakers took advantage of the free throw line, finishing a perfect 10-for-10 collectively in the frame. Junior JT Seagreaves also came unleashed, picking the pocket of a Darlington ballhandler for a quick steal and score, and later threw down an emphatic two-handed slam on a baseline drive that made it 67-53 with just over a minute to play in the extra frame.

“You’re not going to find many people that are better athletes than JT — it’s just trying to find that trigger that gets it going,” Bassett said. 

Bassett credited Monroe’s free throw success to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The summer and the fall and not being able to have contact and everything else, it was good because we got to shoot a lot. Our guys have put in a ton of time in shooting, so now we just have to work on our X’s and O’s,” he said.

While the Cheesemakers could walk off the court celebrating, Uppena was displeased with his squad.

“I was happy with how we played — for the first 36 minutes, anyway. In overtime, you have to make free throws and you can’t turn the ball over, and we had a couple of sequences there where we didn’t get a good look at the hoop. A senior makes a mistake and we get a technical foul and give them free throws and the ball — they made their free throws, we didn’t,” Uppena said. 

Meyer, a UW-Green Bay commit, led all scorers with 20 points in the contest, including a 12-for-14 mark from the charity stripe. Golembiewski hit four 3s for Monroe and finished with 14 points. Carson Leuzinger had 12 points — all after halftime, including hitting the final 10 free throws he attempted. Seagreaves also had 12 points for Monroe. Tyler Matley, a senior guard known for his hustle, scored 7 points, which include three hard drives to the hoop. He also picked up a few key steals and offensive rebounds.

“He’s an X-factor. There’s nothing else you can say about Tyler,” Bassett said. “He gets loose balls, he gets all the rebounds, he makes the timely cuts — he’s just got that instinct. He brings that toughness and grit.” 

Lancaster led Darlington with 19 points. Rankin finished the night with 10, Hunter Hardyman had 13 and Parker Fitzsimons added 7.

Monroe (2-0) is ranked No. 8 in Division 2 in the latest Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association poll, up two spots from a week ago. Darlington (9-2) occupies the No. 5 spot in Division 4, down from fourth last week. The Redbirds collected their ninth win of the season the night after the Monroe game, blowing away Riverdale in a SWAL contest 77-34.

“I was a little disappointed in our seniors and in the lack of leadership, especially in that overtime. It’s not the stuff that championship teams do. We’re not quite where we need to be at,” Uppena said. “Our seniors need to step up and be a little better leaders for us.”