MONROE — Leading the Badger West by four games with four to play should have been plenty of cushion for the Cheesemakers to seal up the league’s division crown. Instead, Monroe dropped back-to-back games Feb. 10 and 12 against Portage and Oregon.
The Warriors flourished on Senior Night, shooting 12 of 34 from beyond the arc with 34 rebounds and 10 turnovers en route to the 64-62 victory. Monroe, meanwhile, was just 5 of 21 from deep with 33 rebounds and nine turnovers.
JT Seagreaves finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds for Monroe, but was just 5 of 12 from the free throw line. Carson Leuzinger had 20 points, but struggled from deep, shooting just 1-for-10 from downtown.
Erik Brouette paced Portage with 20 points, including four 3s. The Warriors led 29-24 at halftime.
Two days later, Oregon walked into Monroe’s gym on Senior Night and lit up the joint from downtown, eventually winning 81-61.
The Panthers moved the ball to the open man out deep seemingly every possession in the first half and hit 7 of 13 3-point attempts (53.8%), while scoring on 8 of 14 (57.1%) shots from inside the arc.
Meanwhile Monroe connected on just 2 of 7 3-point shots (28.5%), and were just 7 of 18 from inside (38.8%).
Shooting percentage aside, Monroe struggled handling the ball all night, finishing with 19 turnovers. Oregon outscored Monroe 19-5 in transition points and had 13 steals.
Seagreaves led Monroe with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Leuzinger had 13 points and Tucker Wiegel nine.
The Cheesemakers also struggled from the line, hitting just 8 of 18 free throw attempts. Oregon hit 52.7% of all shots in the game, and were 12 of 26 (46.2%) from deep. MHS was just 7 of 18 (38.9%) from deep and hit 40.4% of all shots.
Monroe (17-4, 10-2) still leads Oregon (17-4, 8-4) by two games in the Badger West standings with two games to play. Both teams play Mount Horeb (10-10, 7-5) and Madison Edgewood (12-9, 6-6) in the final week of the regular season. Just one team will advance to the Badger Conference championship game.
Brodhead takes two, inches closer to RVC title
BRODHEAD — The Cardinals (15-5, 12-2 Rock Valley) snuck in a pair of hard-fought wins Feb. 10 and 12, beating Clinton and Beloit Turner to maintain the top spot in the conference standings.
On Feb. 10 at Clinton, the Cardinals jumped out to a 9-point halftime lead and went on to win 68-53.
Josiah Engen led the Cardinals with 24 points, while Owen Leifker had 23 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 night at the free throw line. Brady Malkow dominated inside as well, hauling in 18 rebounds to go with 13 points.
Two days later at home against Turner, the Cardinals fell behind by 12 by the intermission. In the second half, Brodhead locked down on defense, holding the Trojans to just 16 points and pulling off the come-from-behind victory, 50-48.
Malkow and Leifker each had 12 points, while Engen finished with 11 and Cullen Walker eight.
Brodhead faces Evansville (Feb. 15), Edgerton (Feb. 18), Big Foot (Feb. 21) and Jefferson (Feb. 24) to close out the regular season. Only Jefferson is below .500 this season in league play.
New Glarus 52, Waterloo 48
NEW GLARUS — The Knights sank the Pirates in a close battle Feb. 10.
Dain Walter led New Glarus with 23 points, while AC Strok added 17.
The Knights won the game at the free throw line, finishing 15 of 26 on the night. Waterloo was just 4 of 7.
New Glarus closes out the regular season with Capitol South games against Wisconsin Heights, Marshall and Cambridge. New Glarus trails Belleville for the league lead by two games. Heights and Marshall are just one game back from Belleville.
Darlington 75, Iowa-Grant 57
LIVINGSTON — The Redbirds went up by 17 to put away the Panthers early in their game Feb. 10.
Hunter Hardyman scored 23 points for Darlington, while Carver Fitzsimons tallied 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and Easton Evenstad added 11 points. Brady Long and Will Murray each scored nine points for Darlington.
The Redbirds reside in third place in the SWAL, one game up on Southwestern, one behind Cuba City and two behind SWAL-leader Mineral Point. There are just three league games left in the season for Darlington.
In other area action from Feb. 10, Barneveld defeated Juda 71-31, and Monticello clinched at least a share of the Six Rivers East title with a 53-42 win over Argyle the same night. Monticello can clinch the outright title with a win over either Barneveld (Feb. 15) or Juda (Feb. 18), or if Barneveld loses one other of its final three games.
