WAUNAKEE - Something about the purple trim of Waunakee's floor brings the best out of Tony Cates.
Nearly one year to the date from a 16-point, three-block performance in last season's sectional semifinal, the Cheesemakers' 6-7 senior center faced the tough challenge of defending Wisconsin Dells' 6-9 and 6-8 combo of Nate Gibson and Alex Buesing head-on and scored 11 points to help Monroe come out with a grinding 45-25 WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal in Waunakee Friday night.
Cates and Monroe's front line limited the Chiefs' towers to six points, while the Monroe backcourt got into the heads of the Dells standout guards of Jade Royston and Ryan Wenkman.
The offense didn't come early for Monroe as shots clanged off the rim, but after nearly three minutes into the first quarter, the Cheesemakers slowed everything down and got into their rhythm. Senior Jake Gross fed a nice bouncing entry pass in to Cates on the left block and Cates beat Gibson to the rim for the first two points of the game.
Cates' basket sparked a 10-0 Monroe game-opening run with junior Mitch McArdle drilling a 3-pointer and Mitch Tordoff swishing a 12-footer before Cates capped the run with another couple of solid plays in the low post.
On the defensive end, Cates met the 6-9 Gibson at the highest point to swat away the Chiefs sophomore shot. Cates was rewarded on the offensive end for his strong defensive effort when freshman Bryan Tordoff got him the ball for another easy bunny to make the score 10-0 with 1:30 to play.
Cates has been working hard at refining his offensive game in the postseason and wasn't totally satisfied with his production against the Dells. He hopes to his the floor running tonight in Sun Prairie against East Troy - which defeated Badger South rival Madison Edgewood 53-39 - for the chance to make the state tournament two years in a row with a calmer attitude.
"In practice, I've been working on my post moves," Cates said. "I wasn't patient enough today, so tomorrow I'll try to be better with that."
Monroe head coach Pat Murphy was pleased with the balance Cates gave Monroe throughout the night offensively.
"He had a couple of shots go in and out or he would've have a really special night," Murphy said. "It's about taking whatever they give you. Good teams have some balance inside and out."
Royston cut the Dells' deficit to three at 12-9 when he buried an NBA-range triple from the left circle with 5:18 left in the second quarter. Moments later an in-ryhtmn 12-footer and a three-pointer from senior Brett Stangel jumpstarted a 13-2 Cheesemakers' run that effectively put the game away. McArdle, who had nine points and two 3-pointers, capped the run with a second-chance triple after Matt Turek hauled McArdle's first miss in and gave it right back to the first-year varsity player who buried it for a 20-9 lead.
"Murf doesn't mind when I shoot but if I miss that I'm probably coming out (of the game)," McArdle said. "It got me going and I think it got everyone going."
"Guys have to step up that maybe aren't used to making plays," Murphy said. "Mitchell did a good job of doing that."
Mitch Tordoff led all scorers with 13 points. He hit only one 3-pointer, but had six points in the fourth quarter. Tordoff had a highlight-reel play with two minutes left in the third quarter after ignoring Murphy's advice. The coach pled his point man to slow the pace down but Tordoff blew down the left side, went baseline and flipped a reverse layup with a kiss off the glass making the score 30-18.
"I might be saying something, but they might not be listening," Murphy said. "On offense they've got to be in attack mode and they've got to play fearless."
Dells' 25 points was a season low for the Chiefs and the least given up by Monroe all season. Wenkman had 10 to lead the Chiefs and Royston had seven, but they missed couldn't get
"You've got to give credit to Monroe, we never cracked their defense," Dells' head coach Brad Rohling said. "They held two pretty good players to average games."
Nearly one year to the date from a 16-point, three-block performance in last season's sectional semifinal, the Cheesemakers' 6-7 senior center faced the tough challenge of defending Wisconsin Dells' 6-9 and 6-8 combo of Nate Gibson and Alex Buesing head-on and scored 11 points to help Monroe come out with a grinding 45-25 WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal in Waunakee Friday night.
Cates and Monroe's front line limited the Chiefs' towers to six points, while the Monroe backcourt got into the heads of the Dells standout guards of Jade Royston and Ryan Wenkman.
The offense didn't come early for Monroe as shots clanged off the rim, but after nearly three minutes into the first quarter, the Cheesemakers slowed everything down and got into their rhythm. Senior Jake Gross fed a nice bouncing entry pass in to Cates on the left block and Cates beat Gibson to the rim for the first two points of the game.
Cates' basket sparked a 10-0 Monroe game-opening run with junior Mitch McArdle drilling a 3-pointer and Mitch Tordoff swishing a 12-footer before Cates capped the run with another couple of solid plays in the low post.
On the defensive end, Cates met the 6-9 Gibson at the highest point to swat away the Chiefs sophomore shot. Cates was rewarded on the offensive end for his strong defensive effort when freshman Bryan Tordoff got him the ball for another easy bunny to make the score 10-0 with 1:30 to play.
Cates has been working hard at refining his offensive game in the postseason and wasn't totally satisfied with his production against the Dells. He hopes to his the floor running tonight in Sun Prairie against East Troy - which defeated Badger South rival Madison Edgewood 53-39 - for the chance to make the state tournament two years in a row with a calmer attitude.
"In practice, I've been working on my post moves," Cates said. "I wasn't patient enough today, so tomorrow I'll try to be better with that."
Monroe head coach Pat Murphy was pleased with the balance Cates gave Monroe throughout the night offensively.
"He had a couple of shots go in and out or he would've have a really special night," Murphy said. "It's about taking whatever they give you. Good teams have some balance inside and out."
Royston cut the Dells' deficit to three at 12-9 when he buried an NBA-range triple from the left circle with 5:18 left in the second quarter. Moments later an in-ryhtmn 12-footer and a three-pointer from senior Brett Stangel jumpstarted a 13-2 Cheesemakers' run that effectively put the game away. McArdle, who had nine points and two 3-pointers, capped the run with a second-chance triple after Matt Turek hauled McArdle's first miss in and gave it right back to the first-year varsity player who buried it for a 20-9 lead.
"Murf doesn't mind when I shoot but if I miss that I'm probably coming out (of the game)," McArdle said. "It got me going and I think it got everyone going."
"Guys have to step up that maybe aren't used to making plays," Murphy said. "Mitchell did a good job of doing that."
Mitch Tordoff led all scorers with 13 points. He hit only one 3-pointer, but had six points in the fourth quarter. Tordoff had a highlight-reel play with two minutes left in the third quarter after ignoring Murphy's advice. The coach pled his point man to slow the pace down but Tordoff blew down the left side, went baseline and flipped a reverse layup with a kiss off the glass making the score 30-18.
"I might be saying something, but they might not be listening," Murphy said. "On offense they've got to be in attack mode and they've got to play fearless."
Dells' 25 points was a season low for the Chiefs and the least given up by Monroe all season. Wenkman had 10 to lead the Chiefs and Royston had seven, but they missed couldn't get
"You've got to give credit to Monroe, we never cracked their defense," Dells' head coach Brad Rohling said. "They held two pretty good players to average games."
