MONONA - Monona Grove junior Jake Schroeckenthaler scored a game-high 20 points, and the second-chance points he got in the second half helped the Silver Eagles tip the Monroe High School boys basketball team 61-57 Tuesday.
"He (Schroeckenthaler) got a ton of offensive rebounds," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "He's 6-(foot-)6 and 240 pounds. We just couldn't keep him off the glass. We had two guys trying to box him out. He just throws the ball up there, and he's good at following it up. He's just tough to keep off the glass."
Monona Grove (5-1, 4-1 Badger South) had a tough battle with Monroe (2-3, 1-2) in its quest to remain unbeaten in the Badger South Conference.
The Cheesemakers led by five points late in the second half. Monona Grove's Caden Nelson hit a 3-pointer with 4 minutes to go to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 53-51. When Monroe again led by five points, Nelson drilled a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 59-57.
Monroe senior Alex Tordoff scored a team-high 18 points and hit three 3-pointers. Junior Brayden Zettle added 12 points and also made three 3-pointers. Senior Carter Sawdey added nine points.
It was the first game for the Cheesemakers in two weeks after Monroe had two games postponed. Bassett didn't think the layoff between games made a difference.
"I don't think it was a factor," he said. "I was a little concerned because we didn't have a good practice last night and had only one day to get ready for Monona Grove. I think our guys came out and played extremely hard. We missed some free throws down the stretch, they made some, and Nelson hit two big 3-pointers."
The Cheesemakers made 10 of 19 free throws and the Silver Eagles were 10 of 21 from the line.
Monroe will host Whitewater in a nonconference game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
"He (Schroeckenthaler) got a ton of offensive rebounds," Monroe coach Brian Bassett said. "He's 6-(foot-)6 and 240 pounds. We just couldn't keep him off the glass. We had two guys trying to box him out. He just throws the ball up there, and he's good at following it up. He's just tough to keep off the glass."
Monona Grove (5-1, 4-1 Badger South) had a tough battle with Monroe (2-3, 1-2) in its quest to remain unbeaten in the Badger South Conference.
The Cheesemakers led by five points late in the second half. Monona Grove's Caden Nelson hit a 3-pointer with 4 minutes to go to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 53-51. When Monroe again led by five points, Nelson drilled a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 59-57.
Monroe senior Alex Tordoff scored a team-high 18 points and hit three 3-pointers. Junior Brayden Zettle added 12 points and also made three 3-pointers. Senior Carter Sawdey added nine points.
It was the first game for the Cheesemakers in two weeks after Monroe had two games postponed. Bassett didn't think the layoff between games made a difference.
"I don't think it was a factor," he said. "I was a little concerned because we didn't have a good practice last night and had only one day to get ready for Monona Grove. I think our guys came out and played extremely hard. We missed some free throws down the stretch, they made some, and Nelson hit two big 3-pointers."
The Cheesemakers made 10 of 19 free throws and the Silver Eagles were 10 of 21 from the line.
Monroe will host Whitewater in a nonconference game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
