MONROE - Trent Wyssbrod and the Monroe boys basketball team has been in the position where a game can come down to a buzzer-beater.
The senior shook off a technical foul call at the end of the third quarter and Monroe survived, pulling out a 56-52 win over Portage in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal Friday night.
Being resilient and overcoming adversity has been the trademark of the Cheesemakers this season. Coming into the tournament, the Cheesemakers (16-7) had lost three straight games including two straight at the buzzer. The Cheesemakers are also playing without senior Joe Latimer, the leading scorer in the Badger South Conference (14.6 points per game) after he suffered a torn ACL against Milton Feb. 12.
"It's how it has been all year," said Wyssbrod who scored a team-high 14 points. "All of our games have been close. We are never out of it. We just keep working hard. We knocked down free throws and finished it up. We all want to win a regional championship at home since we didn't win a conference championship. Winning a regional championship would be huge for us."
The Cheesemakers will play Reedsburg at 7 tonight in Monroe for a regional title. The last time Monroe won a regional title was in 2009, when Mitch Tordoff starred for the Cheesemakers.
The Cheesemakers shot just 59.3 percent (19 of 32) from the free throw line on Friday, but made 6 of 10 in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
"It was a great high school basketball game," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "It's too bad someone had to lose. That's the way the world is with the tournament right now. You just keep fighting, battling and clawing."
Portage senior Daniel Beck, who scored a game-high 20 points, helped the Warriors claw back. Beck hit a jumper while falling down in the lane and was fouled early in the fourth quarter. He converted the conventional three-point play at the foul line to give the Warriors a 44-41. Monroe senior Brian Schneider answered by drilling a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. Monroe senior Alex Barenklau came up with a clutch steal and layup with 1:45 to go, to give the Cheesemakers a 47-44 lead. Beck scored down low to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 55-52 with 22.3 seconds left, but Wyssbrod iced the game at the line making 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
"You never want to end your career losing at home," Barenklau said, who scored a team-high 14 points. "You just live to fight another day."
Both teams showed a lot of fight early on. The Cheesemakers shot just 28.5 percent in the first half (6 of 21), but took a 21-19 lead on a Wyssbrod jumper that banked in to beat the buzzer at the end of the second quarter. Schneider scored six of his 11 points in the first half to lift the Cheesemakers. The Cheesemakers attacked the basket and made 8 of 10 free throws in the first half.
"We are better attacking the basket," Murphy said. "We are better if we can drive and kick it out for 3 too."
Barenklau had the hot hand in the second half. He scored the first six points for the Cheesemakers in the period. He knocked down a baseline jumper early in the third to give the Cheesemakers a 27-23 lead. Wyssbrod hit two 3-pointers to spark a 7-2 Cheesemakers' spurt late in the third quarter. Monroe junior Jake Hirsbrunner drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers' their largest lead at 39-32. Wyssbrod was driving to the basket at the end of the third quarter and was fouled. However, he was called for a technical for taunting a Portage player and since the Cheesemakers weren't in the bonus, he didn't get to shoot any free throws. Portage's Ian Taylor made two free throws to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 39-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
"It was the perfect storm," Murphy said of the technical, as the Warriors' sliced a seven-point lead to two.
The Cheesemakers weathered the storm, and now they get a chance to play Reedsburg for a sectional berth.
"Reedsburg is obviously really good, if they beat Mount Horeb," Barenklau said. "We have played a ton of close games this year. Hopefully, we can go out and get the win."
The senior shook off a technical foul call at the end of the third quarter and Monroe survived, pulling out a 56-52 win over Portage in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal Friday night.
Being resilient and overcoming adversity has been the trademark of the Cheesemakers this season. Coming into the tournament, the Cheesemakers (16-7) had lost three straight games including two straight at the buzzer. The Cheesemakers are also playing without senior Joe Latimer, the leading scorer in the Badger South Conference (14.6 points per game) after he suffered a torn ACL against Milton Feb. 12.
"It's how it has been all year," said Wyssbrod who scored a team-high 14 points. "All of our games have been close. We are never out of it. We just keep working hard. We knocked down free throws and finished it up. We all want to win a regional championship at home since we didn't win a conference championship. Winning a regional championship would be huge for us."
The Cheesemakers will play Reedsburg at 7 tonight in Monroe for a regional title. The last time Monroe won a regional title was in 2009, when Mitch Tordoff starred for the Cheesemakers.
The Cheesemakers shot just 59.3 percent (19 of 32) from the free throw line on Friday, but made 6 of 10 in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
"It was a great high school basketball game," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "It's too bad someone had to lose. That's the way the world is with the tournament right now. You just keep fighting, battling and clawing."
Portage senior Daniel Beck, who scored a game-high 20 points, helped the Warriors claw back. Beck hit a jumper while falling down in the lane and was fouled early in the fourth quarter. He converted the conventional three-point play at the foul line to give the Warriors a 44-41. Monroe senior Brian Schneider answered by drilling a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. Monroe senior Alex Barenklau came up with a clutch steal and layup with 1:45 to go, to give the Cheesemakers a 47-44 lead. Beck scored down low to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 55-52 with 22.3 seconds left, but Wyssbrod iced the game at the line making 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
"You never want to end your career losing at home," Barenklau said, who scored a team-high 14 points. "You just live to fight another day."
Both teams showed a lot of fight early on. The Cheesemakers shot just 28.5 percent in the first half (6 of 21), but took a 21-19 lead on a Wyssbrod jumper that banked in to beat the buzzer at the end of the second quarter. Schneider scored six of his 11 points in the first half to lift the Cheesemakers. The Cheesemakers attacked the basket and made 8 of 10 free throws in the first half.
"We are better attacking the basket," Murphy said. "We are better if we can drive and kick it out for 3 too."
Barenklau had the hot hand in the second half. He scored the first six points for the Cheesemakers in the period. He knocked down a baseline jumper early in the third to give the Cheesemakers a 27-23 lead. Wyssbrod hit two 3-pointers to spark a 7-2 Cheesemakers' spurt late in the third quarter. Monroe junior Jake Hirsbrunner drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers' their largest lead at 39-32. Wyssbrod was driving to the basket at the end of the third quarter and was fouled. However, he was called for a technical for taunting a Portage player and since the Cheesemakers weren't in the bonus, he didn't get to shoot any free throws. Portage's Ian Taylor made two free throws to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 39-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
"It was the perfect storm," Murphy said of the technical, as the Warriors' sliced a seven-point lead to two.
The Cheesemakers weathered the storm, and now they get a chance to play Reedsburg for a sectional berth.
"Reedsburg is obviously really good, if they beat Mount Horeb," Barenklau said. "We have played a ton of close games this year. Hopefully, we can go out and get the win."
