MONROE - The Snack Bowl matchup between the Monroe boys basketball team and Freeport hasn't been as much of a rivalry as Monroe coach Pat Murphy would like.
Monroe is 1-4 in Snack Bowl games against Freeport the last five years, the Pretzels continuing their dominance against Monroe with a 49-31 victory Saturday night.
"The Snack Bowl hasn't been much of a rivalry," Murphy said. "I told the underclassmen they will have to go to Freeport and try to go out on a better note next year."
Senior Luke Norman had the hot hand early on for the Pretzels (7-7), knocking down two 3-pointers as the visitors started the first quarter on a 10-0 run.
Norman scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Pretzels to a 16-4 lead. The Cheesemakers went through a 5-minute, 30-second scoring drought. Monroe senior Austin Burandt scored down low to snap the cold spell in the first quarter.
"They came out on a mission and all guns blazing," Murphy said. "They definitely deserved to win. They were the aggressive team. The team that is usually more aggressive gets rewarded. That's the way it should be."
Monroe (6-5, 2-3 Badger South) was coming off a win over Milton on Friday and looking to build a winning streak.
"We wanted to come out and build some momentum," Murphy said. "It's hard to build momentum when you win one, lose one and get drilled like that.
"It's disappointing when you take two steps forward and then one step back. When you get drilled like we did at the start and they go up
10-0, you get rattled a little bit."
The Cheesemakers shot just 22 percent.
Monroe junior Trent Wyssbrod scored a team-high 10 points and junior Alex Barenklau had six.
Barenklau hit a clutch jumper over two Freeport players at the end of the second quarter to cut the Pretzels' halftime lead to 26-12. The Cheesemakers were solid from the free throw line, making 13 of 16 attempts.
"We didn't play as good of defense as we usually do," Wyssbrod said. "We didn't come out aggressive like we should have."
Freeport senior Evan Schrader hit two
3-pointers and scored 14 points. The Pretzels led by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Monroe senior Bryce Messerli and Wyssbrod each hit 3-pointers late in the third quarter to slice the Pretzels' lead to 34-22. That is as close as the Cheesemakers would get.
"It puts a lot of pressure on the defense when you can't make a play," Murphy said. "When you are not hitting shots, you have to find a way to get to the free throw line or get an offensive rebound and we didn't do either."
Monroe couldn't overcome its poor shooting.
"We had a chance," Wyssbrod said. "We just couldn't get any more to fall."
Monroe is 1-4 in Snack Bowl games against Freeport the last five years, the Pretzels continuing their dominance against Monroe with a 49-31 victory Saturday night.
"The Snack Bowl hasn't been much of a rivalry," Murphy said. "I told the underclassmen they will have to go to Freeport and try to go out on a better note next year."
Senior Luke Norman had the hot hand early on for the Pretzels (7-7), knocking down two 3-pointers as the visitors started the first quarter on a 10-0 run.
Norman scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Pretzels to a 16-4 lead. The Cheesemakers went through a 5-minute, 30-second scoring drought. Monroe senior Austin Burandt scored down low to snap the cold spell in the first quarter.
"They came out on a mission and all guns blazing," Murphy said. "They definitely deserved to win. They were the aggressive team. The team that is usually more aggressive gets rewarded. That's the way it should be."
Monroe (6-5, 2-3 Badger South) was coming off a win over Milton on Friday and looking to build a winning streak.
"We wanted to come out and build some momentum," Murphy said. "It's hard to build momentum when you win one, lose one and get drilled like that.
"It's disappointing when you take two steps forward and then one step back. When you get drilled like we did at the start and they go up
10-0, you get rattled a little bit."
The Cheesemakers shot just 22 percent.
Monroe junior Trent Wyssbrod scored a team-high 10 points and junior Alex Barenklau had six.
Barenklau hit a clutch jumper over two Freeport players at the end of the second quarter to cut the Pretzels' halftime lead to 26-12. The Cheesemakers were solid from the free throw line, making 13 of 16 attempts.
"We didn't play as good of defense as we usually do," Wyssbrod said. "We didn't come out aggressive like we should have."
Freeport senior Evan Schrader hit two
3-pointers and scored 14 points. The Pretzels led by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Monroe senior Bryce Messerli and Wyssbrod each hit 3-pointers late in the third quarter to slice the Pretzels' lead to 34-22. That is as close as the Cheesemakers would get.
"It puts a lot of pressure on the defense when you can't make a play," Murphy said. "When you are not hitting shots, you have to find a way to get to the free throw line or get an offensive rebound and we didn't do either."
Monroe couldn't overcome its poor shooting.
"We had a chance," Wyssbrod said. "We just couldn't get any more to fall."
