MADISON - Everyone knew that once a Tordoff drilled a 3-pointer, Monroe would take over the game. Everyone figured that 3 would come from senior standout Mitch. Instead, it came from his brother, sophomore Bryan.
The younger Tordoff hit back-to-back NBA-range 3-pointers late in the third quarter and added a third in the fourth to spark the Cheesemakers to a 53-39 victory Friday afternoon over Appleton Xavier in the WIAA Division 2 boys basketball state semifinal game at the Kohl Center in Madison. Monroe (19-7) plays Wisconsin Lutheran (23-2) in today's state final.
"Bryan was huge today," Mitch said. "He knocked down a lot of clutch shots. It's a team effort out there. It's not all about just one guy."
Mitch, despite scoring 12 points in the first three quarters, struggled most of the game. He was 0-for-7 through the first three quarters from beyond the arc and picked up his fourth foul with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left to play.
"He's been in so many close games. He's a great player and a leader," head coach Pat Murphy said. "However, we know that we can win with him, and win without him, like the Edgewood game."
Bryan picked up some of the scoring for his big brother, knocking down back-to-back 24-footers with 2:20 and 1:45 left in the third quarter to bring the Cheesemakers out of a mid-game funk and into a 32-31 lead.
Appleton scored the last six points of the third quarter, though, and led 37-32 headed into the fourth.
The game was nearly a carbon-copy of Monroe's two sectional wins last weekend over Wisconsin Dells and Madison Edgewood. Against the Dells, Monroe trailed by five points headed into halftime and rolled to a double-digit win, thanks to some late playmaking and 12 free throws by Mitch Tordoff. Against Edgewood, Tordoff's shot wasn't there but the rest of the team picked up the slack.
Against Xavier, Tordoff struggled from beyond the arc, but knocked down three shots while getting fouled. Then, in the fourth quarter, Tordoff hit his first 3-pointer since the second half against Wisconsin Dells to give Monroe a 42-39 lead with 3:17 left.
From there, Tordoff finished off the Hawks from the free-throw line, making 13 of 14 foul shots in the quarter. He scored 16 of his 28 points in the frame. And his 15 free throws (15-for-17) broke the Division 2 record of 14 shared by former teammate Brett Stangel (2007) and Black River Falls' Thane Anderson (1988).
While the final score looked comfortable, the win was anything but easy.
"Xavier brought it," Murphy said. "I'm happy as heck we won. But I give a lot of credit to our tough schedule from this year. It got us ready for these games."
Xavier made known its presence in the paint early. While taking a 12-6 lead after one quarter, the Hawks grabbed extra offensive rebounds, scoring on three putbacks. Appleton outrebounded Monroe 35-27, and 14-7 in the offensive category.
Monroe began heating up in the second quarter. Mitch Tordoff hit his first two hoops with the harm and then dished the rock to a wide open Mitch McArdle for a 3 to give the Cheese a 17-14 lead.
"Everyone knows that it's not just about one player. Anyone can step up when called upon," McArdle said.
McArdle stole the ball from Xavier a minute later and hit Zach Rast in transition for a layup. Rast was fouled and knocked down the free throw.
"I saw McArdle throw it up and didn't know what to do when I got it. I don't even remember what exactly happened, but it was the biggest shot of my career," Rast said.
The play gave Monroe a 20-14 lead.
However, the Cheesemakers then went cold on offense and went into halftime leading only 21-20.
"We didn't say anything at halftime," Murphy said. "Coach Bassett reminded us from our scouting reports that (Xavier is) always a tough team in the third quarter. Plus, I think having games like the Wisconsin Dells game help a lot. They were tough and we didn't have any panic going into the second half."
The Hawks kept the momentum in the third quarter by dominating the boards on both ends of the court, but Monroe continued hanging around. The big 3s by Bryan Tordoff (13 points, 9 rebounds) ignited the Monroe crowd and bench.
"My teammates put me in great position to hit shots, so I stepped up and hit some," Bryan said. "It's definitely a confidence booster."
Then, like clockwork, and as it has throughout the postseason, Monroe took over the fourth quarter.
"We make our free throws. That's what we're known for," Murphy said. "And when we get a lead, guys aren't afraid of getting Mitch the ball."
McArdle stole the rock and went coast to coast for a lay-in moments into the frame. Xavier got an up-and-under layup by Dan Klister with 5:58 remaining to take a 39-34 lead.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came with just more than four minutes to play. After a missed shot by Monroe, a tipped ball fell to the floor and Jake Grinnell dove to the wood to grasp the ball. The senior forward then kicked the ball out to Bryan Tordoff for an open 3.
"We are a very undersized team, and Jake Grinnell gets in there and gets his hands on a lot of balls," Murphy said.
From the Xavier end, head coach Tom Neises was disappointed in how his kids played offensively, and how Grinnell was the one getting the biggest loose ball of the game.
"We didn't have anyone get down to the floor on that play. (Grinnell) was the only one. He kept it alive and they hit that big shot," Neises said.
The hoop tied the game at 39-39. Mitch then hit his only 3 a minute later to force the Hawks into a fouling-defense the rest of the way.
"(Mitch) Tordoff acted like a money player and played like a money player despite being in foul trouble," Neises said.
That's when Mitch stepped to the line over and over again, calmly putting the game away, while putting his name in the record books.
"I credit their dad, Coach (Jerry) Tordoff. He had Bryan and Mitch shoot 100 extra free throws this week. It paid off for us," Murphy said.
In the final 45 seconds, in between free throws, the benches were emptied and a smiling celebration ensued.
"It hit me right there on the bench that we were getting a (trophy) ball either way," McArdle said. "But I want the gold one."
After leaving the game with 29.9 seconds remaining, Mitch tapped his brother on the head, and thanked his sibling for a job well done.
"I told him, 'Way to pick us up in the second half.' He smiled," Mitch said.
Monroe will face a tough challenge in today's title game. Wisconsin Lutheran edged previously unbeaten Northwestern 61-58 in Friday's first semifinal. The Division 2 championship game starts approximately 30 minutes after the end of the Division 4 game, which begins at 12:05 p.m.
The younger Tordoff hit back-to-back NBA-range 3-pointers late in the third quarter and added a third in the fourth to spark the Cheesemakers to a 53-39 victory Friday afternoon over Appleton Xavier in the WIAA Division 2 boys basketball state semifinal game at the Kohl Center in Madison. Monroe (19-7) plays Wisconsin Lutheran (23-2) in today's state final.
"Bryan was huge today," Mitch said. "He knocked down a lot of clutch shots. It's a team effort out there. It's not all about just one guy."
Mitch, despite scoring 12 points in the first three quarters, struggled most of the game. He was 0-for-7 through the first three quarters from beyond the arc and picked up his fourth foul with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left to play.
"He's been in so many close games. He's a great player and a leader," head coach Pat Murphy said. "However, we know that we can win with him, and win without him, like the Edgewood game."
Bryan picked up some of the scoring for his big brother, knocking down back-to-back 24-footers with 2:20 and 1:45 left in the third quarter to bring the Cheesemakers out of a mid-game funk and into a 32-31 lead.
Appleton scored the last six points of the third quarter, though, and led 37-32 headed into the fourth.
The game was nearly a carbon-copy of Monroe's two sectional wins last weekend over Wisconsin Dells and Madison Edgewood. Against the Dells, Monroe trailed by five points headed into halftime and rolled to a double-digit win, thanks to some late playmaking and 12 free throws by Mitch Tordoff. Against Edgewood, Tordoff's shot wasn't there but the rest of the team picked up the slack.
Against Xavier, Tordoff struggled from beyond the arc, but knocked down three shots while getting fouled. Then, in the fourth quarter, Tordoff hit his first 3-pointer since the second half against Wisconsin Dells to give Monroe a 42-39 lead with 3:17 left.
From there, Tordoff finished off the Hawks from the free-throw line, making 13 of 14 foul shots in the quarter. He scored 16 of his 28 points in the frame. And his 15 free throws (15-for-17) broke the Division 2 record of 14 shared by former teammate Brett Stangel (2007) and Black River Falls' Thane Anderson (1988).
While the final score looked comfortable, the win was anything but easy.
"Xavier brought it," Murphy said. "I'm happy as heck we won. But I give a lot of credit to our tough schedule from this year. It got us ready for these games."
Xavier made known its presence in the paint early. While taking a 12-6 lead after one quarter, the Hawks grabbed extra offensive rebounds, scoring on three putbacks. Appleton outrebounded Monroe 35-27, and 14-7 in the offensive category.
Monroe began heating up in the second quarter. Mitch Tordoff hit his first two hoops with the harm and then dished the rock to a wide open Mitch McArdle for a 3 to give the Cheese a 17-14 lead.
"Everyone knows that it's not just about one player. Anyone can step up when called upon," McArdle said.
McArdle stole the ball from Xavier a minute later and hit Zach Rast in transition for a layup. Rast was fouled and knocked down the free throw.
"I saw McArdle throw it up and didn't know what to do when I got it. I don't even remember what exactly happened, but it was the biggest shot of my career," Rast said.
The play gave Monroe a 20-14 lead.
However, the Cheesemakers then went cold on offense and went into halftime leading only 21-20.
"We didn't say anything at halftime," Murphy said. "Coach Bassett reminded us from our scouting reports that (Xavier is) always a tough team in the third quarter. Plus, I think having games like the Wisconsin Dells game help a lot. They were tough and we didn't have any panic going into the second half."
The Hawks kept the momentum in the third quarter by dominating the boards on both ends of the court, but Monroe continued hanging around. The big 3s by Bryan Tordoff (13 points, 9 rebounds) ignited the Monroe crowd and bench.
"My teammates put me in great position to hit shots, so I stepped up and hit some," Bryan said. "It's definitely a confidence booster."
Then, like clockwork, and as it has throughout the postseason, Monroe took over the fourth quarter.
"We make our free throws. That's what we're known for," Murphy said. "And when we get a lead, guys aren't afraid of getting Mitch the ball."
McArdle stole the rock and went coast to coast for a lay-in moments into the frame. Xavier got an up-and-under layup by Dan Klister with 5:58 remaining to take a 39-34 lead.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came with just more than four minutes to play. After a missed shot by Monroe, a tipped ball fell to the floor and Jake Grinnell dove to the wood to grasp the ball. The senior forward then kicked the ball out to Bryan Tordoff for an open 3.
"We are a very undersized team, and Jake Grinnell gets in there and gets his hands on a lot of balls," Murphy said.
From the Xavier end, head coach Tom Neises was disappointed in how his kids played offensively, and how Grinnell was the one getting the biggest loose ball of the game.
"We didn't have anyone get down to the floor on that play. (Grinnell) was the only one. He kept it alive and they hit that big shot," Neises said.
The hoop tied the game at 39-39. Mitch then hit his only 3 a minute later to force the Hawks into a fouling-defense the rest of the way.
"(Mitch) Tordoff acted like a money player and played like a money player despite being in foul trouble," Neises said.
That's when Mitch stepped to the line over and over again, calmly putting the game away, while putting his name in the record books.
"I credit their dad, Coach (Jerry) Tordoff. He had Bryan and Mitch shoot 100 extra free throws this week. It paid off for us," Murphy said.
In the final 45 seconds, in between free throws, the benches were emptied and a smiling celebration ensued.
"It hit me right there on the bench that we were getting a (trophy) ball either way," McArdle said. "But I want the gold one."
After leaving the game with 29.9 seconds remaining, Mitch tapped his brother on the head, and thanked his sibling for a job well done.
"I told him, 'Way to pick us up in the second half.' He smiled," Mitch said.
Monroe will face a tough challenge in today's title game. Wisconsin Lutheran edged previously unbeaten Northwestern 61-58 in Friday's first semifinal. The Division 2 championship game starts approximately 30 minutes after the end of the Division 4 game, which begins at 12:05 p.m.
