MONROE — The Cheesemakers wrapped up its second-straight Rock Valley Conference championship with a no-doubt-about-it 84-37 thumping of Whitewater on Feb. 18. Coach Brian Bassett was able to empty his bench for much of the second half, giving some of his reserves time to shine. After the game, Monroe cut down the nets and slapped on a “2025” on the wall recognizing conference championships.
“I just think we’re continuing to build every week now,” Bassett said.
Monroe (14-7, 11-1 RVC-Valley) never trailed against the Whippets. In fact, the Cheesemakers jumped out to a 23-2 lead through nearly the first eight minutes of the game. Whitewater didn’t even make a field goal until there was 9:18 left in the first half. Monroe’s largest lead during the stretch reached 30 points at 45-15, and the home squad waltzed into the locker room all smiles with a 50-23 lead.
“It’s a fun one,” senior Brody Cornfield said. “We didn’t start the season how we hoped, but we worked hard and now we’re here. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of hard practices, and it’s all been a lot of fun.”
Playing a big part in the smiles on the Monroe players faces was the exciting end of the half. Reserve Will Keehn, playing in limited minutes all season, had a pair of put-backs in the final minutes of the period, including a tip-in at the buzzer.
“He’s a real strong kid and is starting to mature into his body a little bit, and you’re seeing the improvement. He’s been doing great things in practice all the time,” Bassett said. “We had our first varsity reserve tournament this past weekend, and I loved the minutes Will gave us. The same with Logan Lancaster. Those two were rebounding machines. Now when we’re struggling getting boards, I know who I am going to put in there.”
Keehn would go on to score 11 points in the game on perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field.
Also coming into his own in the second half is Cornfield, a versatile senior who finished the game with 13 points (6-for-6 shooting), two steals and two assists in 17 minutes. He spent much of the past year recovering from a leg injury, but has begun finding his speed on the court over the past few weeks — all while giving minutes at every position despite his 6-1 frame.
“It feels great, to be honest,” Cornfield said.
JT Meyer led Monroe with 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting, and Mekhi Brown tallied another 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Marcus Ott dished out nine assists and added seven rebounds and six points.
Monroe’s reserves closed the game on a 19-3 run over the final 12:35 of the second half. Twelve of Monroe’s 14 available players scored on the night.
The Cheesemakers shot 52.3% from the field, including a 64.4% mark from inside the arc on 45 attempts. Whitewater hit just 26% of all field goals, and just 5 of 25 from beyond the arc. Monroe dominated the stat sheet up and down, beating the Whippets in nearly every margin: rebounds 48-22, points in the paint 56-14, transition points 17-0, points off turnovers 17-4, assists 19-4, steals 9-3, blocks 5-1 and turnovers -14.
The Cheesemakers close out the schedule with three more games: at Jefferson (6-15, 2-10 RVC-V) Feb. 21, home vs. Delavan-Darien (6-15, 4-8 RVC-V) Feb. 24 and against Monona Grove (12-9) on Feb. 27 at Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” Cornfield said of his basketball career soon coming to a close. “I’m just trying to savor the moment, you know? Take as much time with the guys as much fun as I can.
The WIAA will release its boys basketball playoff brackets on Sunday. Despite a clear conference championship and .667 winning percentage so far, the Cheesemakers could find themselves with a middle-of-the-road seed at best in a staunch Division 2 sectional.
“I’m looking at being a 7 or an 8 seed,” Bassett said. “I think we’re going to get an 8 because of the teams we’ve played.
Monroe’s half of the sectional includes Rock Valley rivals Delavan-Darien and Jefferson, plus Elkhorn (15-6) and a slew of old Badger Conference rivals: Monona Grove, Edgewood (4-18), Fort Atkinson (15-6), McFarland (14-7), Milton (13-9), third-ranked Mount Horeb (19-2) and Stoughton (14-8).
“Nobody has a JT, right? No body has a JJ, right?” Bassett said of his sophomore and junior brothers, measuring 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-10. “When we go forward, the only team that’s got that size is McFarland, so that’s the team we don’t want. If we keep playing inside-out, which is our strength, we could be really tough to beat.”
Head-to-head, Monroe has struggled against many of these teams already this year, including nonconference losses to Mount Horeb (75-56), Elkhorn (67-38), McFarland (84-65) and Milton (73-70).
