MONROE - Junior Ben Latimer and the Monroe boys basketball team was on a mission to get back to .500.
Mission accomplished. Latimer scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to propel Monroe to a 55-41 win over Milton Friday.
Monroe (9-9, 4-5 Badger South) went on a 19-3 first-half run to set the tone for the game. Latimer scored nine points during the surge, doing most of his damage down low.
"We have had some slow starts and some slow quarters this year," Latimer said. "We held them to seven points in the first half. It's like coach Murphy says, defense always travels. Our goal was to get back to .500."
Latimer scored down low with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 9-1 lead. Monroe senior Logan Weckerly drilled a 3-pointer with 1:18 to go in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 12-3 lead.
Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff, who scored nine points, drained a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 15-3. Latimer about midway through the second quarter scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers an insurmountable 19-3 lead. The Cheesemakers led by 13 points or more the rest of the way and built a 21-7 lead at the half.
"Every coach wants a start like that," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "You just have to keep playing. It's a four-quarter game.
"Our next goal is to get back to .500 in conference. I just hope we stay hungry and want to get better."
Latimer has recovered from a sprained ankle and looked at ease making decisive moves in the post.
"I felt ready today," Latimer said. "It's been hard with my ankle. My teammates did a heck of a job getting me the ball. Brent Edmunds, Dylan Beaver and Eric Tabaka deserve to get some credit because they are over on the bench cheering us on. They don't get their names in the paper. They are the heart and soul of this team."
The third quarter started the same way the second quarter ended. Latimer scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers a 25-7 lead. Tordoff scored on a layup with 1:20 to go in the period to give the Cheesemakers their biggest lead of the game at 21 points, 33-14. Weckerly added seven points for the Cheesemakers.
Milton senior Tyler Westrick scored a team-high 16 points. He is battling a partial Achilles tear and had missed the last four games.
"He is playing on one leg," Murphy said of Westrick. "The kid is as tough as nails."
Milton junior Joey Stivarius and Westrick each came up with a steals and scored layups to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 40-26 with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter. Milton senior Trevor Mays knocked down a 3-pointer to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 45-32 with 5:06 to go in the period, but that is as close as the Red Hawks would get.
"It's not a secret what people are trying to do," Murphy said of the Red Hawks' press. "They were running and jumping to us. We have to handle the pressure. The biggest thing is we can't turn the ball over in the backcourt because then it leads to two easy points."
With a lineup featuring four guards, the Cheesemakers have the ballhandlers to attack and beat the press and they weathered the storm. The Cheesemakers made 15 of 18 free throws including 10 of 13 in the fourth quarter to keep the double-digit lead. Latimer made 6 of 8 free throws and senior Desmond Ford made 4 of 5 free throws in the fourth quarter.
"I wasn't nervous at all," Latimer said of the Red Hawks' run. "I knew we could put the free throws down. Coach Murphy wants us to shoot 75 percent. Even if your defense is off and you come down and get fouled and make two free throws, it's like the other possession didn't matter. Free throws win games."
Mission accomplished. Latimer scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to propel Monroe to a 55-41 win over Milton Friday.
Monroe (9-9, 4-5 Badger South) went on a 19-3 first-half run to set the tone for the game. Latimer scored nine points during the surge, doing most of his damage down low.
"We have had some slow starts and some slow quarters this year," Latimer said. "We held them to seven points in the first half. It's like coach Murphy says, defense always travels. Our goal was to get back to .500."
Latimer scored down low with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 9-1 lead. Monroe senior Logan Weckerly drilled a 3-pointer with 1:18 to go in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 12-3 lead.
Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff, who scored nine points, drained a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 15-3. Latimer about midway through the second quarter scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers an insurmountable 19-3 lead. The Cheesemakers led by 13 points or more the rest of the way and built a 21-7 lead at the half.
"Every coach wants a start like that," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "You just have to keep playing. It's a four-quarter game.
"Our next goal is to get back to .500 in conference. I just hope we stay hungry and want to get better."
Latimer has recovered from a sprained ankle and looked at ease making decisive moves in the post.
"I felt ready today," Latimer said. "It's been hard with my ankle. My teammates did a heck of a job getting me the ball. Brent Edmunds, Dylan Beaver and Eric Tabaka deserve to get some credit because they are over on the bench cheering us on. They don't get their names in the paper. They are the heart and soul of this team."
The third quarter started the same way the second quarter ended. Latimer scored on a putback to give the Cheesemakers a 25-7 lead. Tordoff scored on a layup with 1:20 to go in the period to give the Cheesemakers their biggest lead of the game at 21 points, 33-14. Weckerly added seven points for the Cheesemakers.
Milton senior Tyler Westrick scored a team-high 16 points. He is battling a partial Achilles tear and had missed the last four games.
"He is playing on one leg," Murphy said of Westrick. "The kid is as tough as nails."
Milton junior Joey Stivarius and Westrick each came up with a steals and scored layups to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 40-26 with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter. Milton senior Trevor Mays knocked down a 3-pointer to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 45-32 with 5:06 to go in the period, but that is as close as the Red Hawks would get.
"It's not a secret what people are trying to do," Murphy said of the Red Hawks' press. "They were running and jumping to us. We have to handle the pressure. The biggest thing is we can't turn the ball over in the backcourt because then it leads to two easy points."
With a lineup featuring four guards, the Cheesemakers have the ballhandlers to attack and beat the press and they weathered the storm. The Cheesemakers made 15 of 18 free throws including 10 of 13 in the fourth quarter to keep the double-digit lead. Latimer made 6 of 8 free throws and senior Desmond Ford made 4 of 5 free throws in the fourth quarter.
"I wasn't nervous at all," Latimer said of the Red Hawks' run. "I knew we could put the free throws down. Coach Murphy wants us to shoot 75 percent. Even if your defense is off and you come down and get fouled and make two free throws, it's like the other possession didn't matter. Free throws win games."
