MONROE - Madison Edgewood will have nightmares trying to defend Monroe junior Ben Latimer in the post.
Latimer scored a game-high 22 points and had seven rebounds to rally Monroe to a comeback 50-43 win over Madison Edgewood Friday. Latimer had a monster fourth quarter scoring 13 points in the period as the Cheesemakers rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit.
Latimer took the advice of his coaches to heart.
"When I get the ball inside they have been telling me to go to the basket because I'm bigger and stronger than most of the guys I will play," Latimer said. "When I get it, I feel confident I will score. I have to give credit to Desmond (Ford) and Kevin Noriega for getting me the ball. They made it happen. Jake Flannery also did a good job of assisting and dumping the ball down to me."
Monroe coach Pat Murphy said it's all about getting the ball to the hot hand.
"We always talk about feeding the fire and the guys played unselfish," Murphy said.
Monroe (5-6, 2-3 Badger South) made just 5 of 13 free throws in the first half. The Cheesemakers finished 55 percent shooting from the free throw line (16 of 29). However, when it mattered most, the Cheesemakers made 6 of 7 free throws in the final 42 seconds to ice the win.
"We have to be able to make 70 percent from the free-throw line to win close games in the conference," Murphy said. "I'm happy how they were able to grind out a win. It's never easy in our league especially against Edgewood."
Edgewood (1-10) went on a 13-2 run in the second quarter to open up a double-digit lead. Edgewood sophomore Alex Arians buried a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 17-14 lead with 4 minutes, 29 seconds left in the second quarter. Edgewood's 6-foot-8 junior Lee Witz blocked a shot and that led to junior Sam Noyce's layup on the break. Junior teammate Arthur Cronin then drilled a 3-pointer to help the Crusaders take a 28-18 lead at the half.
The Crusaders extended their lead to 12 points early in the third quarter. Arians scored a team-high 13 points for the Crusaders. However, the Cheesemakers limited Arians to just two points in the second half.
"We wanted to come out in the second half and play good defense from top to bottom," Latimer said. "We wanted to take away No. 42 (Arians)."
The Cheesemakers started their comeback late in the third quarter. Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to slice the Crusaders' lead to 34-30.
Monroe senior Kevin Noriega scored nine points and Tordoff added eight points and had seven rebounds.
Latimer scored down low early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 34. Latimer again came through scoring in the post with 2:32 to go to give the Cheesemakers a 40-38 lead. Edgewood senior Bryce Haefer answered, draining a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 41-40 lead. Latimer scored down low and was fouled with 1:19 left. He converted the free throw for the conventional three-point play to tie the game at 43. He gave the Cheesemakers the lead for good scoring down low with 42.3 seconds to go for a 45-43 lead.
"I think it will give us a lot of confidence," Latimer said of the comeback win. "It's nice to be on the other end of a couple of wins in conference. I think this will propel us into the second half of the season."
Monroe will play Freeport in the Snack Bowl today. The Monroe girls basketball team will play the Pretzels at 5:30 p.m. and the Monroe boys will play Freeport after the girls' game at about 7 p.m.
Latimer scored a game-high 22 points and had seven rebounds to rally Monroe to a comeback 50-43 win over Madison Edgewood Friday. Latimer had a monster fourth quarter scoring 13 points in the period as the Cheesemakers rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit.
Latimer took the advice of his coaches to heart.
"When I get the ball inside they have been telling me to go to the basket because I'm bigger and stronger than most of the guys I will play," Latimer said. "When I get it, I feel confident I will score. I have to give credit to Desmond (Ford) and Kevin Noriega for getting me the ball. They made it happen. Jake Flannery also did a good job of assisting and dumping the ball down to me."
Monroe coach Pat Murphy said it's all about getting the ball to the hot hand.
"We always talk about feeding the fire and the guys played unselfish," Murphy said.
Monroe (5-6, 2-3 Badger South) made just 5 of 13 free throws in the first half. The Cheesemakers finished 55 percent shooting from the free throw line (16 of 29). However, when it mattered most, the Cheesemakers made 6 of 7 free throws in the final 42 seconds to ice the win.
"We have to be able to make 70 percent from the free-throw line to win close games in the conference," Murphy said. "I'm happy how they were able to grind out a win. It's never easy in our league especially against Edgewood."
Edgewood (1-10) went on a 13-2 run in the second quarter to open up a double-digit lead. Edgewood sophomore Alex Arians buried a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 17-14 lead with 4 minutes, 29 seconds left in the second quarter. Edgewood's 6-foot-8 junior Lee Witz blocked a shot and that led to junior Sam Noyce's layup on the break. Junior teammate Arthur Cronin then drilled a 3-pointer to help the Crusaders take a 28-18 lead at the half.
The Crusaders extended their lead to 12 points early in the third quarter. Arians scored a team-high 13 points for the Crusaders. However, the Cheesemakers limited Arians to just two points in the second half.
"We wanted to come out in the second half and play good defense from top to bottom," Latimer said. "We wanted to take away No. 42 (Arians)."
The Cheesemakers started their comeback late in the third quarter. Monroe sophomore Alex Tordoff knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to slice the Crusaders' lead to 34-30.
Monroe senior Kevin Noriega scored nine points and Tordoff added eight points and had seven rebounds.
Latimer scored down low early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 34. Latimer again came through scoring in the post with 2:32 to go to give the Cheesemakers a 40-38 lead. Edgewood senior Bryce Haefer answered, draining a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 41-40 lead. Latimer scored down low and was fouled with 1:19 left. He converted the free throw for the conventional three-point play to tie the game at 43. He gave the Cheesemakers the lead for good scoring down low with 42.3 seconds to go for a 45-43 lead.
"I think it will give us a lot of confidence," Latimer said of the comeback win. "It's nice to be on the other end of a couple of wins in conference. I think this will propel us into the second half of the season."
Monroe will play Freeport in the Snack Bowl today. The Monroe girls basketball team will play the Pretzels at 5:30 p.m. and the Monroe boys will play Freeport after the girls' game at about 7 p.m.
