MONROE - On a night when Monroe senior Alex Tordoff's older brother, Mitch Tordoff, and the 2007 state champion Cheesemaker basketball team was honored, the Cheesemakers turned in a textbook second-half surge to knock off Freeport 67-54 on Saturday.
After a sluggish first half, the Pretzels led 20-19. Despite shooting just 32 percent in the first half (8 of 25), the Pretzels clung to a 1-point lead.
The Cheesemakers used a 13-2 run to start the second half to open up a 10-point lead. Tordoff knocked down a 3-pointer with 16 minutes, 6 seconds left in the second half to give the Cheesemakers a 28-22 lead. Junior teammate Brayden Zettle hit a jumper that extended the Cheesemakers' lead to 32-22 with 15:02 left.
"The biggest thing we talked about at halftime was our offensive execution," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "I don't yell a lot. I told them at the beginning of the season if I'm yelling you are in trouble. I was yelling at halftime. We were passing and standing instead of passing and cutting. It didn't matter what offense we are running if we are standing. In the second half, we did a much better job of cutting and moving the ball."
Tordoff scored a game-high 22 points. Junior teammate Brayden Zettle added 14 points and senior Tyler Elmer chipped in 10 points.
"Alex Tordoff took a positive step in taking over becoming the man and demanding the ball," Bassett said.
Freeport junior Myterrion Carter came up with a steal and threw down a one-handed dunk on the break to ignite the crowd during the Pretzels' 11-3 run. The dunk cut the Cheesemakers' lead to six points, 45-39. The closest the Pretzels would get was four points. After that, the Cheesemakers went on a 13-1 spurt to seal the game.
"During the timeout I took I just wanted them to snap the ball with passes and not do any more lazy passes or bounce passes," he said.
With the win, Monroe improved to 6-6 and the Cheesemakers won the Snack Bowl trophy by going 5-1 in the freshman, junior varsity and varsity girls and boys games.
"They (Freeport) have had there way with us for a long time," Bassett said. "Any time you beat Freeport, it's important. It's a rivalry game. We schedule Freeport because it helps us prepare us to play teams like Stoughton and Monona Grove. "
Darlington 70, Black Hawk 38
SOUTH WAYNE - Darlington senior Will Schwartz scored a game-high 21 points and the Redbirds had a big surge in the second half to roll to the win over Black Hawk on Saturday.
Black Hawk (9-2) trailed by just even points late in the first half. Darlington (12-0), ranked second in the Associated Press Division 4 state poll, went on a 6-0 spurt to take a 34-21 lead at the half.
"In the first half, I thought we did a pretty good job with our halfcourt defense," Black Hawk coach Charlie Anderson said. "They are very explosive. On offense, we just didn't have the shooting touch we needed to keep pace."
Black Hawk junior Jett Rufenacht scored a team-high 10 points to lead the Warriors.
"In the second half, it just snowballed," Anderson said. "We couldn't make a basket. They (Darlington) are really good and they showed it."
After a sluggish first half, the Pretzels led 20-19. Despite shooting just 32 percent in the first half (8 of 25), the Pretzels clung to a 1-point lead.
The Cheesemakers used a 13-2 run to start the second half to open up a 10-point lead. Tordoff knocked down a 3-pointer with 16 minutes, 6 seconds left in the second half to give the Cheesemakers a 28-22 lead. Junior teammate Brayden Zettle hit a jumper that extended the Cheesemakers' lead to 32-22 with 15:02 left.
"The biggest thing we talked about at halftime was our offensive execution," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "I don't yell a lot. I told them at the beginning of the season if I'm yelling you are in trouble. I was yelling at halftime. We were passing and standing instead of passing and cutting. It didn't matter what offense we are running if we are standing. In the second half, we did a much better job of cutting and moving the ball."
Tordoff scored a game-high 22 points. Junior teammate Brayden Zettle added 14 points and senior Tyler Elmer chipped in 10 points.
"Alex Tordoff took a positive step in taking over becoming the man and demanding the ball," Bassett said.
Freeport junior Myterrion Carter came up with a steal and threw down a one-handed dunk on the break to ignite the crowd during the Pretzels' 11-3 run. The dunk cut the Cheesemakers' lead to six points, 45-39. The closest the Pretzels would get was four points. After that, the Cheesemakers went on a 13-1 spurt to seal the game.
"During the timeout I took I just wanted them to snap the ball with passes and not do any more lazy passes or bounce passes," he said.
With the win, Monroe improved to 6-6 and the Cheesemakers won the Snack Bowl trophy by going 5-1 in the freshman, junior varsity and varsity girls and boys games.
"They (Freeport) have had there way with us for a long time," Bassett said. "Any time you beat Freeport, it's important. It's a rivalry game. We schedule Freeport because it helps us prepare us to play teams like Stoughton and Monona Grove. "
Darlington 70, Black Hawk 38
SOUTH WAYNE - Darlington senior Will Schwartz scored a game-high 21 points and the Redbirds had a big surge in the second half to roll to the win over Black Hawk on Saturday.
Black Hawk (9-2) trailed by just even points late in the first half. Darlington (12-0), ranked second in the Associated Press Division 4 state poll, went on a 6-0 spurt to take a 34-21 lead at the half.
"In the first half, I thought we did a pretty good job with our halfcourt defense," Black Hawk coach Charlie Anderson said. "They are very explosive. On offense, we just didn't have the shooting touch we needed to keep pace."
Black Hawk junior Jett Rufenacht scored a team-high 10 points to lead the Warriors.
"In the second half, it just snowballed," Anderson said. "We couldn't make a basket. They (Darlington) are really good and they showed it."
