MONROE - Alex Barenklau wasn't surprised when Sauk Prairie went to its signature 1-3-1 zone against the Monroe boys basketball team Tuesday night.
Barenklau, a junior guard, scored 19 points and helped the Cheesemakers beat Sauk Prairie 67-53 in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal.
Monroe (9-14) snapped a seven-game losing streak and advances to play No. 2 seed DeForest in a regional semifinal on Friday.
"We know each team is going to run some kind of zone against us, whether it's a 2-3 or a 1-3-1 zone," Barenklau said. "We just came out and moved the ball. It was just a perfect night. We came out hard and never stopped. We won the fourth quarter tonight. During that losing streak, we didn't win the fourth quarter."
Monroe made 4 of its first 6 shots and had no problems breaking the Eagles' press. Barenklau hit a fadeaway jumper on the break to give the Cheesemakers a 7-2 lead.
Senior Bryce Messerli drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 14-8 lead with 2 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first quarter. Junior Joe Latimer came up with a steal and scored on a layup and he scored down low late in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers an 18-8 lead.
The Cheesemakers shot a blistering 55.1 percent in the first half (16-for-29) and finished at 46.1 percent (24-for-52). Monroe junior Brian Schneider scored 14 points and Latimer added 10.
"The guys were shooting when they were open and hands weren't in their face," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "We have an unselfish group of guys. We will never get on guys for missing shots. We will get on guys for not boxing out. At this point of year, we are just happy to survive and be able to practice again."
The Cheesemakers went on an 11-5 run to start the second quarter as their lead snowballed to 17 points. Junior Trent Wyssbrod hit a jumper and Messerli knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:12 left in the second quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 29-13. Latimer scored down low midway through the second period to give the Cheesemakers a 32-15 lead. The Eagles' 1-3-1 zone forced three straight turnovers, but the Cheesemakers led 36-25 at halftime.
"Our goal every game is to get a lot of offensive rebounds," Barenklau said. "We got a ton of rebounds tonight. The team who usually gets more offensive rebounds usually wins."
Sauk Prairie (6-17) went on an 8-2 run to start the third quarter. Senior Lucas Baier, who scored a game-high 25 points, and sophomore Jacob Fiene each buried 3-pointers to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 38-33. The Eagles cut Monroe's lead to five points twice in the second half, but the Cheesemakers weathered the storm. Wyssbrod drilled a 3-pointer with 3:48 to go in the third quarter to push the Cheesemakers' lead back to 45-33.
Fiene hit a 3-pointer and Sauk Prairie sophomore Bailey Breunig scored down low with 5:52 to go in the fourth quarter to whittle the Cheesemakers' lead down to 51-46. That is as close as the Eagles would get. Schneider knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked a 16-5 run to close out the fourth quarter.
"It feels good because we get to keep playing basketball," Schneider said.
Schneider said the key to defeating the Eagles was finding the gaps to drive and moving the ball.
One area the Cheesemakers will look to improve is their free throw shooting. Monroe shot 15 of 29 from the foul line, including 9 of 17 in the final 3:29.
"I think the guys will be the first to tell you we left a lot of points on the table with the free throws," Murphy said. "That's something we have to clean up. I think that is something we can get better at for sure."
Monroe now gears up for a rematch against DeForest on Friday night. DeForest beat the Cheesemakers last year to end their season.
"We can beat anyone and we can get crushed by anyone we play," Barenklau said. "We have to do a good job of getting offensive rebounds and limiting their offensive rebounds and we will have a pretty good shot."
Barenklau, a junior guard, scored 19 points and helped the Cheesemakers beat Sauk Prairie 67-53 in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal.
Monroe (9-14) snapped a seven-game losing streak and advances to play No. 2 seed DeForest in a regional semifinal on Friday.
"We know each team is going to run some kind of zone against us, whether it's a 2-3 or a 1-3-1 zone," Barenklau said. "We just came out and moved the ball. It was just a perfect night. We came out hard and never stopped. We won the fourth quarter tonight. During that losing streak, we didn't win the fourth quarter."
Monroe made 4 of its first 6 shots and had no problems breaking the Eagles' press. Barenklau hit a fadeaway jumper on the break to give the Cheesemakers a 7-2 lead.
Senior Bryce Messerli drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 14-8 lead with 2 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first quarter. Junior Joe Latimer came up with a steal and scored on a layup and he scored down low late in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers an 18-8 lead.
The Cheesemakers shot a blistering 55.1 percent in the first half (16-for-29) and finished at 46.1 percent (24-for-52). Monroe junior Brian Schneider scored 14 points and Latimer added 10.
"The guys were shooting when they were open and hands weren't in their face," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "We have an unselfish group of guys. We will never get on guys for missing shots. We will get on guys for not boxing out. At this point of year, we are just happy to survive and be able to practice again."
The Cheesemakers went on an 11-5 run to start the second quarter as their lead snowballed to 17 points. Junior Trent Wyssbrod hit a jumper and Messerli knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:12 left in the second quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 29-13. Latimer scored down low midway through the second period to give the Cheesemakers a 32-15 lead. The Eagles' 1-3-1 zone forced three straight turnovers, but the Cheesemakers led 36-25 at halftime.
"Our goal every game is to get a lot of offensive rebounds," Barenklau said. "We got a ton of rebounds tonight. The team who usually gets more offensive rebounds usually wins."
Sauk Prairie (6-17) went on an 8-2 run to start the third quarter. Senior Lucas Baier, who scored a game-high 25 points, and sophomore Jacob Fiene each buried 3-pointers to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 38-33. The Eagles cut Monroe's lead to five points twice in the second half, but the Cheesemakers weathered the storm. Wyssbrod drilled a 3-pointer with 3:48 to go in the third quarter to push the Cheesemakers' lead back to 45-33.
Fiene hit a 3-pointer and Sauk Prairie sophomore Bailey Breunig scored down low with 5:52 to go in the fourth quarter to whittle the Cheesemakers' lead down to 51-46. That is as close as the Eagles would get. Schneider knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked a 16-5 run to close out the fourth quarter.
"It feels good because we get to keep playing basketball," Schneider said.
Schneider said the key to defeating the Eagles was finding the gaps to drive and moving the ball.
One area the Cheesemakers will look to improve is their free throw shooting. Monroe shot 15 of 29 from the foul line, including 9 of 17 in the final 3:29.
"I think the guys will be the first to tell you we left a lot of points on the table with the free throws," Murphy said. "That's something we have to clean up. I think that is something we can get better at for sure."
Monroe now gears up for a rematch against DeForest on Friday night. DeForest beat the Cheesemakers last year to end their season.
"We can beat anyone and we can get crushed by anyone we play," Barenklau said. "We have to do a good job of getting offensive rebounds and limiting their offensive rebounds and we will have a pretty good shot."
