MONROE - March Madness may be a few weeks away, but Monroe senior Hunter Ward's magical shooting touch came early.
With the Monroe boys basketball team trailing Badger South Conference leader Stoughton by one point, Ward drove to the basket, pulled up, and banked in a game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds to go to give the Cheesemakers a stunning 69-68 win Friday.
"(Coach Brian) Bassett told us if we see an opening to drive it," Ward said. "I saw an opening and I took it. It magically went in I guess."
Ward doesn't recall his last game-winning shot.
"Maybe in grade school," he said. "It's a great feeling. It will be a game to remember. It's a good confidence booster going into the playoffs. It will be good for the seeding."
Monroe (12-7, 7-4 Badger South) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit. Ward scored a team-high 15 points. Senior teammate Jonah Tostrud scored eight straight points in the second half to spark the Cheesemakers and finished with 12. But no shots were bigger than Ward's last-second attempt.
"The first option on the play was to get the ball to Bo (Brayden Zettle) in the corner and let him read the defense and drive to the basket," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "I told Hunter if he got the ball and there was an opening to take it to the basket and he did."
Monroe junior Kade King battled foul trouble throughout the game, but had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Seniors Zettle and David Keegan each chipped in 11.
Early on, the game had the makings of one in which the Vikings may run away with the victory. Stoughton senior Tommy McClain scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, including his team's first seven points.
When King picked up his second foul, he was forced to the bench for about the final 7 minutes of the first half. The Vikings responded with an 11-0 run. McClain scored down low to give Stoughton a 34-23 lead with 1:10 left in the first half. Stoughton senior Sean McLaury drilled a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give the Vikings a 37-25 lead at the break.
"If they (Stoughton) would have got up by double digits like 15 or 16 points, I may have put him (King) back in," Bassett said of King who had two fouls. "As long as we could keep it within 15 points, I have confidence in our shooters."
The Cheesemakers didn't go quietly. Keegan had a three-point play and then scored down low to cut the Vikings' lead to 37-32 with 16:08 left in the second half. With 11:38 remaining, Ward buried a 3-pointer that helped the Cheesemakers whittle the Vikings' lead down to three-points, 44-41.
When Stoughton stretched its lead to eight points not long after, Tostrud answered with a conventional three-point play to cut the Vikings' lead to 49-44 with 9:17 to go. A short time later King scored on a layup to slice the Vikings' lead to three-points, 55-52 with 6:07 left. Moments after, King picked up his fourth foul. He went to the bench, but this time the Cheesemakers stayed afloat. Zettle drilled a 3 to keep the Cheesemakers within three points, 58-55, with 5:45 to go.
"Kade is a great player," Tostrud said. "We had to have people step up to make up for him (King) being on the bench. Everyone stepped up and made the small and simple plays. We were able to put together a full game and two havles. To beat the top team in the conference is great."
King sat on the bench for just 2:26 and then came back in for the final 3 minutes.
The Vikings (12-6, 10-1 Badger South) were 0 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds and were 3 of 11 in the final 1 minute, 12 seconds. The Cheesemakers shot 65 percent at the free throw line (13 of 20) compared to Stoughton, which shot 42.98 percent (9 of 21).
"We know we need him (King) on the court at the end of the game," Bassett said. "He's one of our top three free throw shooters. He was able top play the rest without fouling."
Monroe will play at Madison Edgewood on Tuesday.
"We have to finish next week," Bassett said. "Every team in our league is tough. Edgewood has a great coach. There are no gimmes in this conference. We have to come ready to play next week."
With the postseason seeding meeting just one week away, the timing of the upset victory couldn't have been any better.
"It will be huge," Bassett said of the win. "We are really trying to get that 4-seed for the tournament. We can fight with these guys. I wanted our guys to know we can compete with them."
With the Monroe boys basketball team trailing Badger South Conference leader Stoughton by one point, Ward drove to the basket, pulled up, and banked in a game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds to go to give the Cheesemakers a stunning 69-68 win Friday.
"(Coach Brian) Bassett told us if we see an opening to drive it," Ward said. "I saw an opening and I took it. It magically went in I guess."
Ward doesn't recall his last game-winning shot.
"Maybe in grade school," he said. "It's a great feeling. It will be a game to remember. It's a good confidence booster going into the playoffs. It will be good for the seeding."
Monroe (12-7, 7-4 Badger South) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit. Ward scored a team-high 15 points. Senior teammate Jonah Tostrud scored eight straight points in the second half to spark the Cheesemakers and finished with 12. But no shots were bigger than Ward's last-second attempt.
"The first option on the play was to get the ball to Bo (Brayden Zettle) in the corner and let him read the defense and drive to the basket," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "I told Hunter if he got the ball and there was an opening to take it to the basket and he did."
Monroe junior Kade King battled foul trouble throughout the game, but had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Seniors Zettle and David Keegan each chipped in 11.
Early on, the game had the makings of one in which the Vikings may run away with the victory. Stoughton senior Tommy McClain scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, including his team's first seven points.
When King picked up his second foul, he was forced to the bench for about the final 7 minutes of the first half. The Vikings responded with an 11-0 run. McClain scored down low to give Stoughton a 34-23 lead with 1:10 left in the first half. Stoughton senior Sean McLaury drilled a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give the Vikings a 37-25 lead at the break.
"If they (Stoughton) would have got up by double digits like 15 or 16 points, I may have put him (King) back in," Bassett said of King who had two fouls. "As long as we could keep it within 15 points, I have confidence in our shooters."
The Cheesemakers didn't go quietly. Keegan had a three-point play and then scored down low to cut the Vikings' lead to 37-32 with 16:08 left in the second half. With 11:38 remaining, Ward buried a 3-pointer that helped the Cheesemakers whittle the Vikings' lead down to three-points, 44-41.
When Stoughton stretched its lead to eight points not long after, Tostrud answered with a conventional three-point play to cut the Vikings' lead to 49-44 with 9:17 to go. A short time later King scored on a layup to slice the Vikings' lead to three-points, 55-52 with 6:07 left. Moments after, King picked up his fourth foul. He went to the bench, but this time the Cheesemakers stayed afloat. Zettle drilled a 3 to keep the Cheesemakers within three points, 58-55, with 5:45 to go.
"Kade is a great player," Tostrud said. "We had to have people step up to make up for him (King) being on the bench. Everyone stepped up and made the small and simple plays. We were able to put together a full game and two havles. To beat the top team in the conference is great."
King sat on the bench for just 2:26 and then came back in for the final 3 minutes.
The Vikings (12-6, 10-1 Badger South) were 0 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds and were 3 of 11 in the final 1 minute, 12 seconds. The Cheesemakers shot 65 percent at the free throw line (13 of 20) compared to Stoughton, which shot 42.98 percent (9 of 21).
"We know we need him (King) on the court at the end of the game," Bassett said. "He's one of our top three free throw shooters. He was able top play the rest without fouling."
Monroe will play at Madison Edgewood on Tuesday.
"We have to finish next week," Bassett said. "Every team in our league is tough. Edgewood has a great coach. There are no gimmes in this conference. We have to come ready to play next week."
With the postseason seeding meeting just one week away, the timing of the upset victory couldn't have been any better.
"It will be huge," Bassett said of the win. "We are really trying to get that 4-seed for the tournament. We can fight with these guys. I wanted our guys to know we can compete with them."
