NEW GLARUS — In their second annual Holiday Classic, the Knights hosted Monroe, Brodhead and Deerfield for a four-team tournament. The Cheesemakers faced off with the Demons at 5:30 p.m., falling short in a strenuous 69-60 game.

“We were slow on everything. Defensively, we let people cut in front of our face, and we didn’t take anything away. That was our biggest problem,” head coach Brian Bassett said. “We didn’t play hard enough on defense. We didn’t come out with that urgency.”

Senior Charlie Wiegel echoed Bassett’s thoughts, saying that, although Monroe played physically, Deerfield played at another level.

“All in all, it was a tough game and we let them dictate physically how the game went,” Wiegel said.

Deerfield took an early lead with points from Tommy Lees and Cal Fisher. Monroe took its first lead at 5-4 with a shot from George Brukwicki. 

The Cheesemakers extended their lead to eight with three buckets from James Seagreaves, one from Wiegel and a three from Brukwicki.

Lees grabbed a loose ball, though, going down the court to score. With back-to-back threes from Ben Wetzel, the Demons tied the game at 17. Deerfield momentarily had a 20-19 lead, but Wiegel took it right back with basket on an inbounds pass from Tucker Markham.

Monroe continued its eight-point run with another basket from Wiegel, three from Markham and offensive put-back from Keatin Sweeney.

With a bonus trip to the free-throw line, Deerfield started its own eight-point run. Fisher went 2-for-2 from the line and defensive miscommunication by Monroe left Fisher and Wetzel wide-open for 3-pointers.

Sweeney scored on a fast-break pass from Markham to regain the lead, but a pair of free throws from Wetzel tied the game — again — at 30. The Demons held for the last possession of the half, but a tip in the post forced a contested 3-pointer that missed the mark.

Markham began the second half completing a 3-point play at the free-throw line to give Monroe the lead. He scored another three, this time from beyond the arc. Wiegel then went to the line to shoot a pair of free throws as Deerfield’s coach was called for a technical foul. He was 2-for-2 to give the Cheesemakers a 38-32 lead — the largest of the second half. 

Fisher and Lees combined for the Demon’s next ten points, giving Deerfield a slim 42-40 lead. Seagreaves tied the game with a bucket in the post before Martin Kimmel and Brukwicki exchanged 3-pointers to tie the game again at 45.

Seagreaves then picked up his third foul halfway through the second half, sending Fisher to the line, where he completed the 3-point play. But three minutes later, Seagreaves was called for a charge for his fourth foul. Paired with Brandon Bassett’s second foul in short time, Brian Bassett called timeout to settle his team.

“It was all around a physical game. The refs don’t always help,” Wiegel said. “When the calls don’t start going your way, you have to battle through that. Sometimes we let that get into our heads.”

The effort was futile, as Seagreaves fouled out of the game with just under six minutes left to play and Monroe down 55-47.

“I don’t even know what to say on that,” Brian Bassett said. “The poor kid didn’t even get to play a game because everything he did was a foul on him, but they didn’t get any fouls.” 

Deerfield jumped to its biggest lead of the game at 11 points, as Fisher went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line on a technical foul by Markham. Monroe battled back, though, to get within three. Brandon Bassett and Brukwicki drained back-to-back threes for the Cheesemakers, and Markham made a pair of free throws with just under a minute left.

To gain possession of the ball, Monroe was forced to foul, sending Deerfield to the line. The Demons were 6-for-6 down the stretch to pull away for a nine-point victory.

“That last five minutes was outstanding I thought — the hardest we played in all our games,” Wiegel said. “We just have to find a way to play that intense the whole 36 minutes.”

Monroe had four players in double figures, led by Markham with 15. Brukwicki trailed with 13 points, followed by Seagreaves with 12 and Wiegel with 11. The Cheesemakers made six shots beyond the arc and went 9-for-15 from the free-throw line.

Deerfield received offensive contributions from five players—all but one scoring in double figures. Fisher led with 27 points followed by Wetzel with 18. The duo had four 3-pointers each. The Demons missed just two free-throws all night, going 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.

In the nightcap, New Glarus cruised to a 72-48 victory over Brodhead.

“The last game we didn’t see the ball go through the hoop like we needed it to,” New Glarus head coach Travis Sysko said. “It was good to see different guys contributing tonight and get the ball going through the basket.”

After a tight first couple of minutes where the game was tied at two and Brodhead trailed 6-5 with a 3-point play by Brody Riese, New Glarus went on an 18-4 run.

Ethan Friedrich scored on a fastbreak, followed by buckets from Max Marty and AC Strok. Breckyn Thompson then drained a 3-pointer for a nine-point lead. Strok added on with another basket and Lawrence Vasquez scored on an offensive put-back.

With a three from Friedrich and bucket from Marty, the Knights had a 15-point lead — their largest of the first half.

Sam Searls sparked a run late in the half for the Cardinals with his second of four 3-pointers. Riese followed with a rebound and subsequent basket to cut the deficit to single digits. After a free throw from Strok, Gabe Bockhop drained a 3-pointer. Ryan Searls kept the momentum on the side of Brodhead by taking a charge from Jack Leonard. 

With 23.8 seconds left in the half, Riese went to the line to shoot a pair of free-throws. He went 1-for-2 to get within six. Strok held for the last possession, though, and made a jumper for a 33-25 at halftime.

“We let them get back in it closing out the first half,” Sysko said. “I would have liked to see us clamp down a little better there.”

The Knights came out of the half and built up their lead with a nine-point run. Max Parman provided the spark by taking a charge from Jaxon Dooley — his third of the game. Brett Warrell scored five straight points, followed by four from Strok, including a steal.

Riese broke up the run with a free throw, but New Glarus went right back to work with six more unanswered points. Marty assisted Strok then scored a basket of his own. Friedrich grabbed an offensive board and put it back in for two.

Despite another three from Sam Searls and a pair of free throws from Bockhop, the Knights continued to pull away. With yet another bucket from Strok, New Glarus took a 28-point lead — the largest of the game.

That’s when the fouls started to pile up for the Knights. Riese had another 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe, and, on the missed attempt, Bockhop was fouled grabbing the rebound. He went to the line to shoot bonus with nearly nine minutes left in the game. The Cardinals scored three more points on free throws from Dooley and Cullen Walker.

Brodhead quickly reached double bonus, where Walker shot 1-for-2. Bockhop followed with a bucket to make it a 61-40 game, but that’s the closest the Cardinals would get.

“We never questioned our effort, so that’s the biggest thing we like,” Brodhead head coach Tommy Meier said. “I know the scoreboard is what it is, but our kids kept battling and fighting. That’s what we love to see.” 

With the lead, Sysko went to his bench. Jake Roth scored three points, followed by Leyton Mihlbauer and Jack Douma with two each.

“It’s hard when you have 15 kids and 10 guys sitting on the bench every night. Anytime they can all get in, that’s a bonus,” Sysko said. “It’s good to see the ball get shared and different guys contributing.”

Strok and Friedrich led New Glarus with 21 and 18 points, respectively. Friedrich and Warrell drained a pair of threes each with the fifth and final one coming from Thompson. The Knights shot just under 50% from the free-throw line, going 7-for-15.

Sam Searls and Bockhop were the leading duo for Brodhead, tallying 16 and 11 points, respectively. Sam Searls had four of the Cardinal’s six 3-pointers.

“He’s been a good shooter for us from the outside the whole year,” Meier said. “He’s probably shooting 30-35% on the season. That’s a norm for us. If he gets an open look, he’s going to knock it down.”

Brodhead will play Monroe in the third-place game on Thursday, Dec. 29.

With the win, New Glarus advanced to the championship game against Deerfield. After watching the Monroe-Deerfield game, Sysko and his team are prepared.

“Cal Fisher is a load for them,” Sysko said. “He’s a confident kid that’s been a four-year varsity starter. We’re no stranger to Cal; we had to contend with him last year. We are excited to be in the championship tomorrow night; it should be a good game.”