MONROE — Height proved to be a big factor in Monroe’s 84-65 nonconference loss against McFarland Dec. 27. The average height of the Spartans’ starting five was 6’4” with their tallest player — Ben Forbes — coming in at 6’9”. The shortest was Hayden Harrison at 6’0”. Meanwhile, the Cheesemakers’ starting five average height was 6’2” — JT Meyer the tallest at 6’8” and Mekhi Brown the shortest at 5’10”.
The mismatches allowed McFarland to score 19 second-chance points. In fact, 52 of its 84 points came in the paint. The Spartans also out-rebounded the Cheesemakers 46-26.
Despite the lopsided final score, Monroe tallied the first points of the game on a 3-pointer from JT Meyer. He set a screen for Marcus Ott and, instead of rolling, stayed on the perimeter for an open shot as his defender was late on the switch.
Monroe and McFarland exchanged the lead three times with more shots from beyond the arc — Brown hit one for the Cheesemakers and one each came from the Spartans’ Eli Krueger and Harrison.
Defensively, Monroe applied high pressure on the ball handler, double-teaming the guard when he approached the top of the key. With quick passes to find the open man, McFarland was able to handle the pressure and gain a 15-10 lead.
In the first rotation of substitutes, Max Hayden took the floor and made an immediate impact. He assisted JJ Meyer for a bucket and screened Brown’s defender, creating enough space for Brown to pop a three and tie the game at 15-15 with ten minutes left in the half.
But Hayden picked up two quick fouls and returned to the bench. The Spartans then went on a 7-0 run. JT Meyer’s offensive putback broke up the rally, but McFarland pressed on, taking advantage of Monroe’s overly aggressive defense. Twice Cheesemaker defenders mistimed intercepting a pass, leaving their players open for buckets.
With just under six minutes left in the first frame, Monroe found itself in a double-digit deficit. Ott drew two fouls in the final two minutes and made 2 of 3 bonus free throws, but McFarland took a 40-26 lead into the locker room.
That advantage swelled to 21 points three minutes into the second half with a 8-0 Spartan run. Garrett Crull created opportunities for his teammates by driving hard to the basket and kicking to the corner for three-pointers for Mason Roe and Harrison. The final bucket of the drive came on a defensive rebound by Roe, who then pushed up the court for Harrison to score in transition.
Although Miles Versnik checked into the game for the first time at 13:52, he made the most of his six minutes on the floor. The junior scored back-to-back points, including a 3-pointer.
The slight offensive spark did little to deter McFarland’s momentum, as the Spartans’ lead hovered around 20 points for the rest of the game.
With a minute and a half left in the contest, Monroe head coach Brian Bassett subbed in his bench. In the remaining time, Drew Monroe scored five points, including a buzzer-beating banked three-point shot to close out the game.
