FREEPORT — On the same day the Cheesemakers earned the No. 2 seed in their half-sectional, they knocked off the Pretzels 62-56 in a nonconference game. 

Monroe coach Brian Bassett said the win lacked focus and the second half was the worst display of ball-handling he’d seen thus far this year.

“We were really loose with it. I didn’t like the end of the game at all,” Bassett said. “I thought the first half we shared the ball as well as we have all year. In the second half, they tried to share it, but they tried to make the fancy plays and not the simple plays. The simple plays are what’s going to get you Ws in the playoffs.”

Monroe (15-5) led by 11 during the first quarter and again at halftime, but Freeport (10-19) kept finding ways to stay in the game — notably by hitting 3-point shots and picking off passes and converting fast breaks for points.

“That’s been kind of the story all season. We’ll get up 8, 9, 10 points, but instead of putting a team away we let them get back to within 2 again. Then we’ll extend that lead again, and then give it back up,” Bassett said.

The Pretzels used a 15-3 run in the third quarter to take a brief 38-37 lead and the two teams entered the fourth quarter all-squared at 41.

JT Seagreaves scored five-straight points to open up the fourth, putting Monroe back ahead by two scores. Carson Leuzinger then knocked down four free throws to put the Cheesemakers ahead 50-44. After a pair of Pretzel buckets, Cade Meyer found Tyler Matley alone on a backdoor cut to keep it a two-possession game.

“They were doubling up on me, so I hit a lot of backdoors. They were face-guarding me up top, so I would just catch the ball and turn and hit guys cutting to the hoop,” Meyer said.

On Monroe’s next possession, Seagreaves grabbed a loose ball in the paint and flipped to Meyer on the block. Meyer then elevated for a 2-handed dunk. Matley then grabbed a crucial rebound and hit a pair of bonus free throws to push the lead to 56-48.

Freeport wouldn’t go away, and the Pretzels used a full-court press to give the Cheesemakers fits. The home team brought the score back to within a bucket at 58-56, and held possession in the final minute after Meyer overthrew Leuzinger for a turnover.

“It’s making the simple plays — in a 2-point game you’re not dribbling down the floor throwing up alley-oop lobs; you’re not throwing passes through your legs or around people’s backs trying to make the special play, but passing the ball back out to the top and trying to live for another day, because you’re going to get an open shot,” Bassett said.

A corner 3-point attempt from Keandre Wade clanked off the rim, and Meyer pulled in the board and handed off to Leuzinger, who was fouled with 12.7 seconds left. Leuzinger hit both free throws — plus two more with 1 second left after a miss from Wade. 

Leuzinger finished with 15 points, including an 11 of 12 mark from the charity stripe. He was a perfect 8 for 8 in the fourth quarter.

“Second half, I’m usually the one with the ball, so I shoot a lot of free throws. I’m really confident in myself to make them,” Leuzinger said.

Meyer scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, and Seagreaves added 16 points in the contest, including a 7 for 9 mark from the line. Tyler Matley finished with eight points.

Travon Tibias and Deontae Collier Jr. led the Pretzels with 13 points each, while Kaleb Dixson had 12 points for Freeport. The Pretzels were called for 20 fouls to Monroe’s 10, and shot just three free throws to Monroe’s 25.

“It was fun, because all summer we play in this style; AAU tournaments where people are just hacking. I’m kind of used to it, and it’s nice to get back to it — you can play your game and the (referees) don’t call everything,” Meyer said.

Monroe left Illinois with two conference games to play in the regular season. After that, it’s a one-and-done deal in the playoffs.

“It was great to get the 2-seed; I think we earned it over the course of the season,” Bassett said. Despite winning 75% of their games this season, Bassett has hounded the Cheesemakers on their multitudes of inconsistency: running the offense properly, keeping focus on possession and remembering to play defense each time down the court. What happens if they put it all together?

“That’s the scary part” for opposing teams, said Bassett with a grin.