MONROE - Defense wins championships. Sometimes, a little luck and certain matchups help.
In a 49-43 win Tuesday over Mount Horeb, the Cheesemakers played solid defense, forcing Mount Horeb into 14 turnovers - two from defensive 5-second calls and an over-and-back in the first half. Monroe also picked up eight steals in the WIAA Division 2 regional opener.
However, when it came to guarding against the shot, Monroe could only watch and hope for a gust of wind.
Mount Horeb shot 17-for-27 (63.3 percent) from the field , and 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
"It wasn't like their offense shocked us," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "They did that against Waunakee."
Against the Warriors, one of the top teams in Division 1, Mount Horeb (4-17) held a late lead in the fourth quarter before falling and used the stall offense throughout.
"But when a team makes 8 out of 11 3s, it makes you thankful that you can even stay with them. It's really tough to play a transition game when you're taking the ball out of bounds every time," Murphy said.
The Vikings play a slow-paced offense, setting up players in all four corners, stalling and looking for an open shot by dribble penetration and kicking out to the wings.
"It's frustrating when they do that four-corners thing," senior guard Mitch McArdle said. "To get a shot every three minutes is just frustrating. You come down and get a shot, then you know you're going to be playing defense for a while. And they came down to our house and shot like that - they made everything."
"That dribble penetration is something that still hurts us. It's one of those things that we work on every day in practice, trying to get our bodies in front of them," Murphy said.
The game started even, with Mount Horeb taking a 4-2 lead before McArdle drained a 3-pointer 1 minute, 45 seconds into the game. Top-seeded Monroe never trailed again.
Sophomore guard Bryan Tordoff forced Mount Horeb's sophomore standout, Luke Webber, into back-to-back defensive 5-second calls midway through the first, frustrating the Vikings.
By the end of the first quarter, the Cheesemakers (14-7) held an 11-7 advantage.
To start the second quarter, Mitch Tordoff drilled a 3-pointer just 13 seconds in to double up the Vikings.
Monroe's lead hit eight points at 20-12 when McArdle connected with a slashing Jake Grinnell in the paint with 1:39 left in the half.
During a minute-and-a-half stretch in the period, Monroe grabbed four offensive rebounds. In the frame, Monroe had six offensive rebounds and 10 in the first half. The Cheese finished with 14 offensive boards.
Those offensive rebounds accounted for several Cheesemaker points.
"We talk about getting rebounds all the time. In the tournament, you can just throw the records out," Murphy said.
Monroe went into the half leading 22-14. In the second half, the game got even more interesting.
Mount Horeb's Tyson Frederick (12 points) drilled his second 3-pointer of the game just 30 seconds into the third quarter. Cullen Sampson countered moments later, only to have Cort Johnson knock down another 3 to put the score at 25-20.
Sampson hit a jumper a few possessions later, but Mike Martin hit the Vikings' third 3 of the frame with 2:25 left to cut Monroe's lead to 27-23.
The Cheesemakers then rattled off 11 straight points over the next 1:46 to take a 38-23 lead. Martin hit a second 3-pointer with 37 seconds left, but Michael Barrett (eight points) grabbed a loose ball under the Cheesemakers' hoop and put it in the hole with a second to go and Monroe led 40-26 headed into the fourth.
"We played well in spurts. And to beat good teams you have to be more consistent," Murphy said.
In the fourth, Mount Horeb continued to shoot well. Frederick drilled a 3 and Webber scored in the paint twice, including once off an offensive rebound, and the Vikings were back to within seven.
Bryan Tordoff score in the paint and McArdle countered a second Webber shot with a drive of his own with 3:05 left in the fourth to put Monroe up 44-35.
However, the Vikings scored the next five points, including getting possession with 1:24 left when Sampson missed an open jumper from the elbow.
In the final minute, the Vikings were forced to foul, and Barrett hit a pair of free throws with 56.4 remaining. The dagger came with 28 seconds left. After playing stiffling defense and forcing Mount Horeb to call a timeout with 40.6 seconds left, McArdle jumped a passing lane and went coast to coast, putting in a layup with 28 seconds left to give Monroe a 48-40 lead.
Riley Koval drilled a 3 with 11 seconds left, but Mitch Tordoff was fouled off of the inbound with 6.9 seconds remaining and hit a bonus free throw.
"We have to be a lot better on Thursday to even give ourselves a chance," Murphy said.
The Cheesemakers will spend Wednesday preparing for Brodhead and the Cardinals' 6-foot, 9-inch sophomore center J.J. Panoske. Monroe had little chance to lose its 6-7 forward Kevin Frint due to matchup problems. Frint did see some playing time, netting a block on defense and converting on a putback in the third quarter against the Vikings.
"(Mount Horeb) is not the biggest team in the world, so we couldn't get our big guys like Frint in there. But now on Thursday we get to go against Brodhead's giant," McArdle said.
However, Panoske's shooting range will add an extra disadvantage for Monroe defensively. Murphy knows his team will have to play solid "D," as well as hit its shots in order to advance to the regional final Saturday.
In a 49-43 win Tuesday over Mount Horeb, the Cheesemakers played solid defense, forcing Mount Horeb into 14 turnovers - two from defensive 5-second calls and an over-and-back in the first half. Monroe also picked up eight steals in the WIAA Division 2 regional opener.
However, when it came to guarding against the shot, Monroe could only watch and hope for a gust of wind.
Mount Horeb shot 17-for-27 (63.3 percent) from the field , and 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
"It wasn't like their offense shocked us," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "They did that against Waunakee."
Against the Warriors, one of the top teams in Division 1, Mount Horeb (4-17) held a late lead in the fourth quarter before falling and used the stall offense throughout.
"But when a team makes 8 out of 11 3s, it makes you thankful that you can even stay with them. It's really tough to play a transition game when you're taking the ball out of bounds every time," Murphy said.
The Vikings play a slow-paced offense, setting up players in all four corners, stalling and looking for an open shot by dribble penetration and kicking out to the wings.
"It's frustrating when they do that four-corners thing," senior guard Mitch McArdle said. "To get a shot every three minutes is just frustrating. You come down and get a shot, then you know you're going to be playing defense for a while. And they came down to our house and shot like that - they made everything."
"That dribble penetration is something that still hurts us. It's one of those things that we work on every day in practice, trying to get our bodies in front of them," Murphy said.
The game started even, with Mount Horeb taking a 4-2 lead before McArdle drained a 3-pointer 1 minute, 45 seconds into the game. Top-seeded Monroe never trailed again.
Sophomore guard Bryan Tordoff forced Mount Horeb's sophomore standout, Luke Webber, into back-to-back defensive 5-second calls midway through the first, frustrating the Vikings.
By the end of the first quarter, the Cheesemakers (14-7) held an 11-7 advantage.
To start the second quarter, Mitch Tordoff drilled a 3-pointer just 13 seconds in to double up the Vikings.
Monroe's lead hit eight points at 20-12 when McArdle connected with a slashing Jake Grinnell in the paint with 1:39 left in the half.
During a minute-and-a-half stretch in the period, Monroe grabbed four offensive rebounds. In the frame, Monroe had six offensive rebounds and 10 in the first half. The Cheese finished with 14 offensive boards.
Those offensive rebounds accounted for several Cheesemaker points.
"We talk about getting rebounds all the time. In the tournament, you can just throw the records out," Murphy said.
Monroe went into the half leading 22-14. In the second half, the game got even more interesting.
Mount Horeb's Tyson Frederick (12 points) drilled his second 3-pointer of the game just 30 seconds into the third quarter. Cullen Sampson countered moments later, only to have Cort Johnson knock down another 3 to put the score at 25-20.
Sampson hit a jumper a few possessions later, but Mike Martin hit the Vikings' third 3 of the frame with 2:25 left to cut Monroe's lead to 27-23.
The Cheesemakers then rattled off 11 straight points over the next 1:46 to take a 38-23 lead. Martin hit a second 3-pointer with 37 seconds left, but Michael Barrett (eight points) grabbed a loose ball under the Cheesemakers' hoop and put it in the hole with a second to go and Monroe led 40-26 headed into the fourth.
"We played well in spurts. And to beat good teams you have to be more consistent," Murphy said.
In the fourth, Mount Horeb continued to shoot well. Frederick drilled a 3 and Webber scored in the paint twice, including once off an offensive rebound, and the Vikings were back to within seven.
Bryan Tordoff score in the paint and McArdle countered a second Webber shot with a drive of his own with 3:05 left in the fourth to put Monroe up 44-35.
However, the Vikings scored the next five points, including getting possession with 1:24 left when Sampson missed an open jumper from the elbow.
In the final minute, the Vikings were forced to foul, and Barrett hit a pair of free throws with 56.4 remaining. The dagger came with 28 seconds left. After playing stiffling defense and forcing Mount Horeb to call a timeout with 40.6 seconds left, McArdle jumped a passing lane and went coast to coast, putting in a layup with 28 seconds left to give Monroe a 48-40 lead.
Riley Koval drilled a 3 with 11 seconds left, but Mitch Tordoff was fouled off of the inbound with 6.9 seconds remaining and hit a bonus free throw.
"We have to be a lot better on Thursday to even give ourselves a chance," Murphy said.
The Cheesemakers will spend Wednesday preparing for Brodhead and the Cardinals' 6-foot, 9-inch sophomore center J.J. Panoske. Monroe had little chance to lose its 6-7 forward Kevin Frint due to matchup problems. Frint did see some playing time, netting a block on defense and converting on a putback in the third quarter against the Vikings.
"(Mount Horeb) is not the biggest team in the world, so we couldn't get our big guys like Frint in there. But now on Thursday we get to go against Brodhead's giant," McArdle said.
However, Panoske's shooting range will add an extra disadvantage for Monroe defensively. Murphy knows his team will have to play solid "D," as well as hit its shots in order to advance to the regional final Saturday.
