MONROE — The Cheesemakers have noticed a trend in recent weeks — complacency early on, which then requires high-stakes pressure down the stretch. On Feb. 8, Monroe struggled with both a slow start and a slow finish, but was still able to knock off Lodi 54-45 in a nonconference game.
Monroe coach Brian Bassett said his squad has lofty goals, like reaching state, but “we’re not going to be able to do that if we keep coming out the way that we are,” he said recently. “If you watch us in warm ups, we’re not getting after it, and when the game hits, we’re getting smacked in the face. It took us a while to fight back, and we can’t have that.”
Lodi didn’t jump out to a large lead early on, but held the Cheesemakers to just six points in the first 5-plus minutes. A quick 7-0 run with a 3-pointer by Keatin Sweeney and two pull up jumpers by Carson Leuzinger put Monroe on top 13-8 with 11:30 to play until halftime, and less than 90 seconds later the advantage reached 19-10. Leuzinger scored 12 points in a row for Monroe, and finished the half with 22.
The Cheesemakers took advantage of the bonus, as Lodi struggled with foul trouble early on. Monroe also had two starters get into early foul trouble, senior forwards JT Seagreaves and Aaron Roidt.
However, by halftime, Monroe led by 15 at 34-19.
The second half was a different story, with fewer whistles called both ways. Seagreaves took an elbow to the face guarding on the perimeter, and later got rolled up and stepped on fighting for a loose ball in the paint.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils still trailed by 15 with 14:35 left after Roidt stole a pass along the baseline and chucked a home run pass to Leuzinger for the transition score. Over the next 11 1/2 minutes, though, the momentum shifted in Lodi’s favor as the Blue Devils brought to back to within four points at 47-43 with 3:03 left.
Seagreaves then stole a pass and flipped it ahead to Leuzinger for a layup with 2:35 remaining, giving his team some breathing room. Over the next 2:30, Monroe held Lodi without a point to close out the game.
Leuzinger finished with a career-high 31 points, while Seagreaves had nine and Tucker Markham six. Monroe was 15 of 20 from the line combined. Lodi was led in scoring by Jaylen Montgomery, who had 13.
The Cheesemakers (17-2) were set to play at Portage Feb. 10 before returning home Feb. 12 for Senior Night against Oregon. The final two games of the regular season are on the road at Mount Horeb and Edgewood. The Badger Conference championship is set for Feb. 24, with playoffs beginning March 1.
Parkview 44, Argyle 42
ARGYLE — Kaden Hartwig and Max Godfrey each scored 13 points for Argyle, which lost a tight nonconference game to Parkview Feb. 7, 44-42.
Willie Helfvogt had eight points and Caden Stoeger finished the night with six for the Orioles. Trey Oswald led Parkview with 18 points, and teammate Rusty Klinzman added 10.
Parkview led 22-18 at halftime.
In other area action Feb. 7, Juda lost a close nonconference game at Madison Country Day 53-50, with Country Day’s Colin Young hitting five 3s and finishing with 39 points and 16 rebounds. On the same night, Pecatonica lost to Potosi in a Six Rivers crossover 81-47.
