STOUGHTON - The madness of March isn't just for college-level basketball. When high school basketball gets to the postseason, the intensity in every gym increases as does the play on the court.
The seventh-seeded Cheesemakers rolled into second-seeded Stoughton looking for an upset and left it all on the court. But it was the Vikings that came out on top in overtime, 47-45.
"I thought by far that was our best defensive effort of the year," Monroe head coach Brian Bassett said. "I can't say enough about our guys and how they bought in to everything that we were doing. I'm proud of our guys because they battled through all the transitions and changes and adversity that we've had this year."
Monroe (14-10) led the usually-high scoring Vikings at halftime 21-19, but that was after Stoughton (15-8) scored the final five points and held the Cheesemakers scoreless over the last 4 minutes, 39 seconds of the half.
"(Leading) gave us a lot of confidence," senior Brayden Zettle said. "(Coach) was believing in us. We knew we could do it (pull the upset)."
Neither team led by more than a possession in the second half. Stoughton was able to tie the game at 40 with 1:09 remaining on a jump shot by Brady Schipper.
"We were trying to slow them down and limit their possessions," Monroe senior Hunter Ward said. "It didn't turn out with a win, but we played our hearts out tonight."
Monroe held the ball for the last shot of regulation, but Jonah Tostrud's desperation heave from 27-feet was off the mark. From there the game went into overtime.
"It was a tough battle back and forth," Tostrud said. "Each team was hitting shots and making defensive stops. The momentum would swing one way and then the other every possession."
Kade King hit a pair of free throws to open the scoring in the overtime. Both teams traded offensive possessions, but then Stoughton senior Max Fernholz hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to give the Vikings a 43-42 advantage.
With 33.7 seconds left, King was called for a travel after tripping on a fallen Stoughton player, much to the dismay of the Cheesemaker bench, personnel on the floor, fans and Bassett.
The Cheesemakers were forced to foul to send Stoughton to the free throw line for bonus throws, and Fernholz knocked down both to make it a 45-42 game with 26 seconds left.
Coming out of a timeout, all eyes were on Zettle, the Cheesemakers sharpshooter, to hit a big 3-pointer. Instead it was Ward who took an open look from the top of the key, nailing a 3 with 12.6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 45.
"The space was there, so I took the shot. I was open, so why not?" Ward said.
Bassett said he was confident with Ward's play throughout the night.
"It was a huge play by him. He had that look in his eye all night that he was ready to go. He wasn't worried," Bassett said. "He didn't make me nervous tonight. The moment was not too big for him."
In the final 10 seconds of overtime, Schipper drove the right baseline and missed a bunny from the inside - a common theme of the Vikings throughout the game - and the putback attempt by Fernholz was blocked. The ensuing loose ball bounced around the floor and off of body parts into the hands of Stoughton's Adam Hobson, who flipped in a layup on the left side with just 2 ticks left on the clock.
"We worked all week (on defense) because they set a lot of screens for Fernholz and Schipper," Zettle said.
The Cheesemakers called a timeout and set up a play for Zettle to put up an open-look half-court heave at the buzzer, but the shot was a touch too hard and the upset big was over.
"Stoughton's a great team. They might be able to beat MG (Monona Grove) and go all the way," Tostrud said. "We left it all out there and gave it our hardest effort and fought until the end."
Zettle led the Cheesemakers with 15 points. Ward scored 11, King had 9 points and 14 rebounds, and Tostrud finished with 8 points. Schipper led Stoughton with 15, Fernholz had 10, and big man Tommy McClain was stifled for just 8 in the contest.
"I can't say enough about our seniors," Bassett said. "Jonah Tostrud should be defensive player of the year in our conference because he would lock down everybody. He took more charges than anyone else in our program for a long, long time - since Dan Healy, which is a long time ago. Hats off to him.
"Hats off to Zettle for making huge shot after huge shot, Kade for being 'The Man', and David Keegan for stepping up when Hunter got hurt. He did a really nice job and filling in and running the point this season while Hunter was out."
The seventh-seeded Cheesemakers rolled into second-seeded Stoughton looking for an upset and left it all on the court. But it was the Vikings that came out on top in overtime, 47-45.
"I thought by far that was our best defensive effort of the year," Monroe head coach Brian Bassett said. "I can't say enough about our guys and how they bought in to everything that we were doing. I'm proud of our guys because they battled through all the transitions and changes and adversity that we've had this year."
Monroe (14-10) led the usually-high scoring Vikings at halftime 21-19, but that was after Stoughton (15-8) scored the final five points and held the Cheesemakers scoreless over the last 4 minutes, 39 seconds of the half.
"(Leading) gave us a lot of confidence," senior Brayden Zettle said. "(Coach) was believing in us. We knew we could do it (pull the upset)."
Neither team led by more than a possession in the second half. Stoughton was able to tie the game at 40 with 1:09 remaining on a jump shot by Brady Schipper.
"We were trying to slow them down and limit their possessions," Monroe senior Hunter Ward said. "It didn't turn out with a win, but we played our hearts out tonight."
Monroe held the ball for the last shot of regulation, but Jonah Tostrud's desperation heave from 27-feet was off the mark. From there the game went into overtime.
"It was a tough battle back and forth," Tostrud said. "Each team was hitting shots and making defensive stops. The momentum would swing one way and then the other every possession."
Kade King hit a pair of free throws to open the scoring in the overtime. Both teams traded offensive possessions, but then Stoughton senior Max Fernholz hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to give the Vikings a 43-42 advantage.
With 33.7 seconds left, King was called for a travel after tripping on a fallen Stoughton player, much to the dismay of the Cheesemaker bench, personnel on the floor, fans and Bassett.
The Cheesemakers were forced to foul to send Stoughton to the free throw line for bonus throws, and Fernholz knocked down both to make it a 45-42 game with 26 seconds left.
Coming out of a timeout, all eyes were on Zettle, the Cheesemakers sharpshooter, to hit a big 3-pointer. Instead it was Ward who took an open look from the top of the key, nailing a 3 with 12.6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 45.
"The space was there, so I took the shot. I was open, so why not?" Ward said.
Bassett said he was confident with Ward's play throughout the night.
"It was a huge play by him. He had that look in his eye all night that he was ready to go. He wasn't worried," Bassett said. "He didn't make me nervous tonight. The moment was not too big for him."
In the final 10 seconds of overtime, Schipper drove the right baseline and missed a bunny from the inside - a common theme of the Vikings throughout the game - and the putback attempt by Fernholz was blocked. The ensuing loose ball bounced around the floor and off of body parts into the hands of Stoughton's Adam Hobson, who flipped in a layup on the left side with just 2 ticks left on the clock.
"We worked all week (on defense) because they set a lot of screens for Fernholz and Schipper," Zettle said.
The Cheesemakers called a timeout and set up a play for Zettle to put up an open-look half-court heave at the buzzer, but the shot was a touch too hard and the upset big was over.
"Stoughton's a great team. They might be able to beat MG (Monona Grove) and go all the way," Tostrud said. "We left it all out there and gave it our hardest effort and fought until the end."
Zettle led the Cheesemakers with 15 points. Ward scored 11, King had 9 points and 14 rebounds, and Tostrud finished with 8 points. Schipper led Stoughton with 15, Fernholz had 10, and big man Tommy McClain was stifled for just 8 in the contest.
"I can't say enough about our seniors," Bassett said. "Jonah Tostrud should be defensive player of the year in our conference because he would lock down everybody. He took more charges than anyone else in our program for a long, long time - since Dan Healy, which is a long time ago. Hats off to him.
"Hats off to Zettle for making huge shot after huge shot, Kade for being 'The Man', and David Keegan for stepping up when Hunter got hurt. He did a really nice job and filling in and running the point this season while Hunter was out."
