MONROE - For the first time in eight years, the Monroe junior varsity boys basketball team won the Summer Slam tournament Saturday at the high school.
Monroe went 5-0 and beat Delavan-Darien in the championship game 46-30. The Monroe JV team is now 12-1 in three summer tournaments with the next tournament coming June 30 at Hononegah.
"We thought we had a really good shot at this," Monroe coach Jerry Tordoff said of winning the tournament. "You certainly hope they come out of this feeling they have accomplished something."
The Monroe varsity team Sunday finished 2-2 and played in the second-place bracket. Monroe opened with a win after Juda forfeited. Monroe then lost a nail-biter to Delavan-Darien 44-42. In the second place pool, Monroe knocked off Hononegah JV 40-28 and then lost to Janesville Parker 48-40. Freeport won the varsity championship 54-53 over Dodgeville. The Pretzels finished the tournament 5-0.
"We struggled with our shooting," Monroe varsity coach Brian Bassett said. "We know we have to work on shooting. We passed the ball really well against Hononegah and torched their zone. It's really weird. In the past we have struggled against the zone and today we struggled against the man defense. The one thing that (Ken) Gratz and I were most disappointed about is our intensity level. We didn't bring it at the start against Delavan. It's easy to have energy when the shots are falling. When the shots were not falling we didn't react very well."
Monroe senior Desmond Ford scored 10 points against Delavan-Darien and had a team-high 15 points and three 3-pointers in the win against Hononegah.
Monroe scored the first eight points against Janesville Parker, but couldn't hang on to the lead. Janesville Parker went on a big run when things got chippy on the court and built a 14-point lead in the second half.
"Jacob Flannery really played hard and got some rebounds and coast-to-coast layups," Bassett said. "When we did press we gave teams problems. Logan Weckerly hit some shots. He has to look for his shot more."
Monroe sophomore Tyler Elmer was the leading scorer of the Cheesemakers in the JV tournament. Several players on the JV team could push for spots on the varsity in the winter.
"I think we have a lot of really good players coming up," Tordoff said. "Some of these kids might be on varsity and some will be on JV. I don't know. That is not my decision. Tyler Elmer was tremendous. He was usually guarding the best player on the other team. He was dogging the other team's best player and he had a lot of help."
The Monroe JV played two pool games before earning a chance to play in the first-place bracket. Monroe defeated the Darlington freshman team 38-26 and knocked off New Glarus JV 42-28. The Cheesemakers led New Glarus by 21 points at one time. The Monroe JV team played 17 players and invited incoming freshmen and sophomores. In first-place bracket games, Monroe beat Dodgeville 47-12 and defeated Verona 48-35.
"We said we would try to get them all in," Tordoff said of playing time with 17 players. "It probably wasn't going to be equal playing time. We got them experience. Jake Grinnell was really instrumental in subbing them in. Our top seven or eight players really got to rest in the Dodgeville and New Glarus games. The other guys off the bench played super and extended the lead."
Monroe went 5-0 and beat Delavan-Darien in the championship game 46-30. The Monroe JV team is now 12-1 in three summer tournaments with the next tournament coming June 30 at Hononegah.
"We thought we had a really good shot at this," Monroe coach Jerry Tordoff said of winning the tournament. "You certainly hope they come out of this feeling they have accomplished something."
The Monroe varsity team Sunday finished 2-2 and played in the second-place bracket. Monroe opened with a win after Juda forfeited. Monroe then lost a nail-biter to Delavan-Darien 44-42. In the second place pool, Monroe knocked off Hononegah JV 40-28 and then lost to Janesville Parker 48-40. Freeport won the varsity championship 54-53 over Dodgeville. The Pretzels finished the tournament 5-0.
"We struggled with our shooting," Monroe varsity coach Brian Bassett said. "We know we have to work on shooting. We passed the ball really well against Hononegah and torched their zone. It's really weird. In the past we have struggled against the zone and today we struggled against the man defense. The one thing that (Ken) Gratz and I were most disappointed about is our intensity level. We didn't bring it at the start against Delavan. It's easy to have energy when the shots are falling. When the shots were not falling we didn't react very well."
Monroe senior Desmond Ford scored 10 points against Delavan-Darien and had a team-high 15 points and three 3-pointers in the win against Hononegah.
Monroe scored the first eight points against Janesville Parker, but couldn't hang on to the lead. Janesville Parker went on a big run when things got chippy on the court and built a 14-point lead in the second half.
"Jacob Flannery really played hard and got some rebounds and coast-to-coast layups," Bassett said. "When we did press we gave teams problems. Logan Weckerly hit some shots. He has to look for his shot more."
Monroe sophomore Tyler Elmer was the leading scorer of the Cheesemakers in the JV tournament. Several players on the JV team could push for spots on the varsity in the winter.
"I think we have a lot of really good players coming up," Tordoff said. "Some of these kids might be on varsity and some will be on JV. I don't know. That is not my decision. Tyler Elmer was tremendous. He was usually guarding the best player on the other team. He was dogging the other team's best player and he had a lot of help."
The Monroe JV played two pool games before earning a chance to play in the first-place bracket. Monroe defeated the Darlington freshman team 38-26 and knocked off New Glarus JV 42-28. The Cheesemakers led New Glarus by 21 points at one time. The Monroe JV team played 17 players and invited incoming freshmen and sophomores. In first-place bracket games, Monroe beat Dodgeville 47-12 and defeated Verona 48-35.
"We said we would try to get them all in," Tordoff said of playing time with 17 players. "It probably wasn't going to be equal playing time. We got them experience. Jake Grinnell was really instrumental in subbing them in. Our top seven or eight players really got to rest in the Dodgeville and New Glarus games. The other guys off the bench played super and extended the lead."
