MONROE - The celebration for winning a Badger South Conference championship will have to be put on hold after Monona Grove knocked off Monroe 60-48 Friday night.
"This one hurts big," said Monroe senior Trent Wyssbrod, who scored a team-high 17 points. "We wanted to clinch it at home and cut down the nets. We have two games left. Maybe we can clinch it at home against Milton."
Monona Grove used a 2-3 zone that stifled the Cheesemakers throughout the game. Monroe (15-5, 7-3 Badger South) shot just 3 of 21 in the first half and senior leaders Joe Latimer and Alex Barenklau were limited to 10 points combined. Latimer shot 2 of 7 and scored just six points and Barenklau was 1 of 9 and scored four points. Latimer entered the game averaging 15.7 points per game and Barenklau 13.5 ppg.
"Coach Murphy always has them running their offense like a machine and getting shots for Latimer and Barenklau," Monona Grove coach Dan Zweifel said. "We thought by going to a 2-3 zone that we could throw them off rhythm. We felt like we gave one away against Monroe at Monona Grove."
With the loss, Monroe's lead over Monona Grove (12-8, 7-4) in the Badger South Conference is now just a half game. The Cheesemakers, ranked 10th in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, can clinch at least a share of the conference title if they defeat Milton Tuesday, Feb. 12.
"We were just a half a step slow to the ball and (Monona Grove) was quick to the ball," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "We knew what was at stake. I'm at a loss. This is the last thing I expected. We pride ourselves on being the scrappier and tougher team. We just weren't tonight. We still control our own destiny."
Monona Grove senior Brett Percy scored a game-high 19 points and drilled four 3-pointers including one before the buzzer. Percy knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half to help the Silver Eagles take a 22-14 lead at the half. The Cheesemakers struggled attacking the 2-3 zone.
"It was a complete team effort," Zweifel said. "Only giving up 14 points against Monroe in the first half is amazing."
The Cheesemakers started the third quarter strong, with Latimer scoring on a putback and Wyssbrod hitting a jumper with 6 minutes, 58 seconds left in the period to slice the Silver Eagles' lead to 22-18. The Silver Eagles answered with an 11-4 run to build an 11-point lead. Monona Grove shot an impressive 57.1 percent in the second half (12 of 21) and finished 44.7 percent in the game (17 of 38).
"We just didn't come out ready to play," Wyssbrod said. "In the first half we thought we were open a little bit and were just throwing shots up. In the second half, we attacked the zone and kicked it out to shooters."
Monona Grove junior Mark Nelson knocked down a fade away jumper during the surge. Monona Grove senior Markus Goff then scored down low to give the Silver Eagles a 31-20 lead with 4:25 to go in the period. Wyssbrod later drilled a 3-pointer to trim the Silver Eagles' lead to eight points. Monona Grove junior Tyler Blang ended the third quarter with a bang hitting a 3-pointer to give the Silver Eagles a 38-26 lead.
The Cheesemakers finally found their outside shooting touch in the fourth quarter. Monroe junior Charlie Kind, who scored 13 points, and hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to give the Cheesemakers a spark. Wyssbrod drilled a third straight 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, but the Cheesemakers still trailed 44-37. That's as close as the Cheesemakers would get as the Silver Eagles made 6 of 10 free throws in the final 2 minutes to seal it. Kind scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
"We will take the offense from whoever we get it," Murphy said. "I didn't think anyone else was hunting down shots."
When the Cheesemakers were forced to foul late, 35 seconds went off the clock before they committed a foul.
"We hestitated in the beginning and the end," Murphy said.
Murphy said he would have liked to seen his team grab a few more offensive rebounds to pull the Silver Eagles out of the zone.
The Silver Eagles had a balanced scoring attack, with four players in double figures. In addition to Percy, Nelson scored 13 points, Blang added 11 points and Goff chipped in 10.
With the seeding meeting for the WIAA Division 2 tournament on Sunday, Waunakee appears like they may be the No. 1 seed. Zweifel said even though the Silver Eagles split with Monroe, he still likes the Cheesemakers as a No. 2 seed over Mount Horeb.
"The No. 2 seed will probably be Monroe or Mount Horeb," Zweifel said. "I just think (Monroe's) body of work is great. They will be a tough out in the tournament."
"This one hurts big," said Monroe senior Trent Wyssbrod, who scored a team-high 17 points. "We wanted to clinch it at home and cut down the nets. We have two games left. Maybe we can clinch it at home against Milton."
Monona Grove used a 2-3 zone that stifled the Cheesemakers throughout the game. Monroe (15-5, 7-3 Badger South) shot just 3 of 21 in the first half and senior leaders Joe Latimer and Alex Barenklau were limited to 10 points combined. Latimer shot 2 of 7 and scored just six points and Barenklau was 1 of 9 and scored four points. Latimer entered the game averaging 15.7 points per game and Barenklau 13.5 ppg.
"Coach Murphy always has them running their offense like a machine and getting shots for Latimer and Barenklau," Monona Grove coach Dan Zweifel said. "We thought by going to a 2-3 zone that we could throw them off rhythm. We felt like we gave one away against Monroe at Monona Grove."
With the loss, Monroe's lead over Monona Grove (12-8, 7-4) in the Badger South Conference is now just a half game. The Cheesemakers, ranked 10th in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, can clinch at least a share of the conference title if they defeat Milton Tuesday, Feb. 12.
"We were just a half a step slow to the ball and (Monona Grove) was quick to the ball," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "We knew what was at stake. I'm at a loss. This is the last thing I expected. We pride ourselves on being the scrappier and tougher team. We just weren't tonight. We still control our own destiny."
Monona Grove senior Brett Percy scored a game-high 19 points and drilled four 3-pointers including one before the buzzer. Percy knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half to help the Silver Eagles take a 22-14 lead at the half. The Cheesemakers struggled attacking the 2-3 zone.
"It was a complete team effort," Zweifel said. "Only giving up 14 points against Monroe in the first half is amazing."
The Cheesemakers started the third quarter strong, with Latimer scoring on a putback and Wyssbrod hitting a jumper with 6 minutes, 58 seconds left in the period to slice the Silver Eagles' lead to 22-18. The Silver Eagles answered with an 11-4 run to build an 11-point lead. Monona Grove shot an impressive 57.1 percent in the second half (12 of 21) and finished 44.7 percent in the game (17 of 38).
"We just didn't come out ready to play," Wyssbrod said. "In the first half we thought we were open a little bit and were just throwing shots up. In the second half, we attacked the zone and kicked it out to shooters."
Monona Grove junior Mark Nelson knocked down a fade away jumper during the surge. Monona Grove senior Markus Goff then scored down low to give the Silver Eagles a 31-20 lead with 4:25 to go in the period. Wyssbrod later drilled a 3-pointer to trim the Silver Eagles' lead to eight points. Monona Grove junior Tyler Blang ended the third quarter with a bang hitting a 3-pointer to give the Silver Eagles a 38-26 lead.
The Cheesemakers finally found their outside shooting touch in the fourth quarter. Monroe junior Charlie Kind, who scored 13 points, and hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to give the Cheesemakers a spark. Wyssbrod drilled a third straight 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, but the Cheesemakers still trailed 44-37. That's as close as the Cheesemakers would get as the Silver Eagles made 6 of 10 free throws in the final 2 minutes to seal it. Kind scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
"We will take the offense from whoever we get it," Murphy said. "I didn't think anyone else was hunting down shots."
When the Cheesemakers were forced to foul late, 35 seconds went off the clock before they committed a foul.
"We hestitated in the beginning and the end," Murphy said.
Murphy said he would have liked to seen his team grab a few more offensive rebounds to pull the Silver Eagles out of the zone.
The Silver Eagles had a balanced scoring attack, with four players in double figures. In addition to Percy, Nelson scored 13 points, Blang added 11 points and Goff chipped in 10.
With the seeding meeting for the WIAA Division 2 tournament on Sunday, Waunakee appears like they may be the No. 1 seed. Zweifel said even though the Silver Eagles split with Monroe, he still likes the Cheesemakers as a No. 2 seed over Mount Horeb.
"The No. 2 seed will probably be Monroe or Mount Horeb," Zweifel said. "I just think (Monroe's) body of work is great. They will be a tough out in the tournament."
