MONROE - Brodhead's boys basketball team gave Monroe all it could handle, but it was the Cheesemakers that came through in the end, winning Thursday's Division 2 regional semifinal 57-55.
"Brodhead came out and played great," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "They took their best shot. And with the young guys that they have, they played much older than they are."
The Cardinals went right to work in the post, with sophomores J.J. Panoske and Nick Jacobson scoring the first 11 points for Brodhead. Panoske finished with 16 points and Jacobson added 15.
"We wanted to hold them defensively and get the ball down low on offense," Panoske said.
Both teams flipped leads throughout the first quarter, with Brodhead taking a 14-12 lead after a 3-pointer by Michael Peterson with 50 ticks left in the opening frame.
Monroe opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run, sparked by fast breaks and a Mitch Tordoff 3. Tordoff finished with a game-high 26 points.
"It was a game of runs all night," Tordoff said.
The Cardinals worked their way back to tie the score at 21-21 before a second mini-run by the Cheesemakers opened the game up.
Bryan Tordoff scored eight straight points in a one-minute stretch for Monroe off the bench in the back half of the second quarter.
"Lately it's been working out well with me coming off the bench. My teammates got me the ball and I just did my best," Bryan said.
He drove the lane with 3:30 to play in the half for the first points, then got the hoop and the harm on Monroe's next possession. After converting the free throw, the sophomore used his defensive skills to force a Brodhead guard out of bounds on the following press break. He finished the spurt with a 3 just seconds later to give the Cheesemakers a 27-21 lead with 2:28 to play in the half.
"It doesn't hurt when guys are making plays, and we need Bryan to step it up," Murphy said. Tordoff finished the half with 15 points.
The game was delayed for about 10 minutes moments later as a fan collapsed in the front row with a seizure. The two teams jostled back and forth, but the Cheesemakers led 30-27 at halftime.
Brodhead came back to take a 36-35 lead halfway through the third, using its strength and inside game to gain the advantage.
"We said that we were going to come in and give it our best shot and hope to make it a game at the end," Cardinals head coach Brian Kammerer said. "That's what we did. It was a game at the end and that's because of the heart of these kids."
The two teams went into the fourth tied 36-36.
"We knew we had to get it done. We knew it was now or never. But they shot very well. (Monroe is) a great team," Panoske said.
The Cardinals got 3s from Panoske and junior guard Jacob Cole (9 points) and a bunch of inside moves by Jacobson to take a 48-43 lead with 4:21 left in the game.
Monroe got a big 3 from Bryan Tordoff moments later to trim the deficit.
Senior guard Mitch Tordoff then stripped the ball on the ensuing possession and heaved a rocket pass to Mitch McArdle (7 points) in stride. McArdle pump faked one defender at the rim before finishing the transition points.
"I pump faked, and in the back of my head I wondered where Panoske was. I hate to say that," McArdle said. "But that got some momentum going and then (Bryan) Tordoff hit that shot. I was a little fired up, I didn't want this to be the end."
Mitch Tordoff jumped in front of another pass seconds later and his younger brother Bryan drilled a shot in the paint with 3:31 left to give Monroe a 50-48 advantage.
Brodhead's last lead came with two minutes to play when senior Micah Wallace drilled his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Cardinals a 53-52 advantage. Mitch Tordoff scored the next four points for the Cheesemakers and Brodhead couldn't come back in the closing minute.
"I'll never forget this game, this year," Wallace said. "Winning conference was a dream come true, and then getting this close to Monroe ... we fell short, but I will never forget this."
Mitch Tordoff scored 15 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
"It was a back-and-forth game all night. We just happened to get it to go our way at the end. We got a couple of key stops and we capitalized," he said.
Monroe shot 4-for-11 from the free throw line, something both Tordoff and Murphy said was very unusual. Monroe also shot just better than 41 percent from the field, compared to Brodhead's 57 percent. However, the Cheesemakers found ways to get inside and grab offensive rebounds, which led to numerous second-chance points.
"I'm just proud that our guys found a way to get it done," Murphy said.
The Cheesemakers face Edgerton in the regional final Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Verona. Tickets are on sale and will be available until game time.
"You just keep battling. The key is to grind it out and give that next team your best shot," Murphy said.
Brodhead finishes the season with a 14-8 record, but came away with a Rock Valley South conference championship. However, Kammerer noted that, despite the team's youth, the Cardinals will miss the leadership of graduating seniors Ryan Miller (4 points) and Wallace.
"I cannot say enough about our kids. Monroe is a great team and we came ready to play and didn't back down," he said. "We had our chances to win at the end but we didn't get it done.
"This is going to hurt for a week or so, but I told the kids in the locker room that when they walk into our gym, it will say 2009 for conference. We wanted to be up there. That's a credit to our kids. We're going to miss Micah and Ryan, but we have some good things coming up and we are looking to the future."
"Brodhead came out and played great," Monroe head coach Pat Murphy said. "They took their best shot. And with the young guys that they have, they played much older than they are."
The Cardinals went right to work in the post, with sophomores J.J. Panoske and Nick Jacobson scoring the first 11 points for Brodhead. Panoske finished with 16 points and Jacobson added 15.
"We wanted to hold them defensively and get the ball down low on offense," Panoske said.
Both teams flipped leads throughout the first quarter, with Brodhead taking a 14-12 lead after a 3-pointer by Michael Peterson with 50 ticks left in the opening frame.
Monroe opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run, sparked by fast breaks and a Mitch Tordoff 3. Tordoff finished with a game-high 26 points.
"It was a game of runs all night," Tordoff said.
The Cardinals worked their way back to tie the score at 21-21 before a second mini-run by the Cheesemakers opened the game up.
Bryan Tordoff scored eight straight points in a one-minute stretch for Monroe off the bench in the back half of the second quarter.
"Lately it's been working out well with me coming off the bench. My teammates got me the ball and I just did my best," Bryan said.
He drove the lane with 3:30 to play in the half for the first points, then got the hoop and the harm on Monroe's next possession. After converting the free throw, the sophomore used his defensive skills to force a Brodhead guard out of bounds on the following press break. He finished the spurt with a 3 just seconds later to give the Cheesemakers a 27-21 lead with 2:28 to play in the half.
"It doesn't hurt when guys are making plays, and we need Bryan to step it up," Murphy said. Tordoff finished the half with 15 points.
The game was delayed for about 10 minutes moments later as a fan collapsed in the front row with a seizure. The two teams jostled back and forth, but the Cheesemakers led 30-27 at halftime.
Brodhead came back to take a 36-35 lead halfway through the third, using its strength and inside game to gain the advantage.
"We said that we were going to come in and give it our best shot and hope to make it a game at the end," Cardinals head coach Brian Kammerer said. "That's what we did. It was a game at the end and that's because of the heart of these kids."
The two teams went into the fourth tied 36-36.
"We knew we had to get it done. We knew it was now or never. But they shot very well. (Monroe is) a great team," Panoske said.
The Cardinals got 3s from Panoske and junior guard Jacob Cole (9 points) and a bunch of inside moves by Jacobson to take a 48-43 lead with 4:21 left in the game.
Monroe got a big 3 from Bryan Tordoff moments later to trim the deficit.
Senior guard Mitch Tordoff then stripped the ball on the ensuing possession and heaved a rocket pass to Mitch McArdle (7 points) in stride. McArdle pump faked one defender at the rim before finishing the transition points.
"I pump faked, and in the back of my head I wondered where Panoske was. I hate to say that," McArdle said. "But that got some momentum going and then (Bryan) Tordoff hit that shot. I was a little fired up, I didn't want this to be the end."
Mitch Tordoff jumped in front of another pass seconds later and his younger brother Bryan drilled a shot in the paint with 3:31 left to give Monroe a 50-48 advantage.
Brodhead's last lead came with two minutes to play when senior Micah Wallace drilled his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Cardinals a 53-52 advantage. Mitch Tordoff scored the next four points for the Cheesemakers and Brodhead couldn't come back in the closing minute.
"I'll never forget this game, this year," Wallace said. "Winning conference was a dream come true, and then getting this close to Monroe ... we fell short, but I will never forget this."
Mitch Tordoff scored 15 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
"It was a back-and-forth game all night. We just happened to get it to go our way at the end. We got a couple of key stops and we capitalized," he said.
Monroe shot 4-for-11 from the free throw line, something both Tordoff and Murphy said was very unusual. Monroe also shot just better than 41 percent from the field, compared to Brodhead's 57 percent. However, the Cheesemakers found ways to get inside and grab offensive rebounds, which led to numerous second-chance points.
"I'm just proud that our guys found a way to get it done," Murphy said.
The Cheesemakers face Edgerton in the regional final Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Verona. Tickets are on sale and will be available until game time.
"You just keep battling. The key is to grind it out and give that next team your best shot," Murphy said.
Brodhead finishes the season with a 14-8 record, but came away with a Rock Valley South conference championship. However, Kammerer noted that, despite the team's youth, the Cardinals will miss the leadership of graduating seniors Ryan Miller (4 points) and Wallace.
"I cannot say enough about our kids. Monroe is a great team and we came ready to play and didn't back down," he said. "We had our chances to win at the end but we didn't get it done.
"This is going to hurt for a week or so, but I told the kids in the locker room that when they walk into our gym, it will say 2009 for conference. We wanted to be up there. That's a credit to our kids. We're going to miss Micah and Ryan, but we have some good things coming up and we are looking to the future."
