WAUNAKEE - Monroe's season has come and gone with the play of senior guard Mitch Tordoff. Thursday night against Wisconsin Dells, Tordoff left people wondering again, 'How can this guy be so good?'
The Monroe senior was held to just two points in the first quarter, but scored when it counted to guide the Cheesemakers to a 69-58 win over the Chiefs in a Division 2 boys basketball sectional semifinal.
"The team looks up to its seniors, and me and Mitch (McArdle) are the captains, and we know what we have to do," Tordoff said.
Once again, McArdle played clamp-down defens - this time shutting down Wisconsin Dells' senior guard Jade Royston, who made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer Saturday to upend River Valley in the regional final.
"He's a great player. He's really fast, he can drive, and he's going to get his points," McArdle said of Royston.
Monroe started the game looking cold on offense.
After hitting nearly every shot they put up against Edgerton, the Cheesemakers found nothing but iron over the first two periods and trailed 33-27 at halftime.
"Our guys stepped up their game. They knew what they had to do and they made plays," head coach Pat Murphy said.
Monroe was lucky to be in the game at that point. The Cheesemakers shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first half, including just 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin Dells, on the other hand, shot 12-for-16 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
"This has happened to us before," Tordoff said of how well other teams have shot against Monroe.
"We've been down so much this season that we've grown to know how to come back. It was kind of the same thing in the Brodhead game."
In the second half, Tordoff (and the Cheesemakers) took over.
The senior guard nailed a 3-pointer moments into the third to give Monroe a bit of a spark.
However, Royston and 6-9 junior center Nate Gibson kept Monroe at bay, and Wisconsin Dells finished the third with a 46-41 lead.
The Cheesemakers had tied the score at 39-39 after a 3-pointer by McArdle with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third.
In the fourth, Monroe got back to the basics.
The Cheesemakers got a 3 off the bat from Tordoff and soon after took a 52-50 lead after he made a pair of free throws.
"(Shooting free throws) is like practice to me. We work on them all the time, I have no problem making them," Tordoff said.
The senior finished the night 14-for-14 from the line and scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, including 12 freebies.
Despite missing free throws early in the game, Monroe finished 23-for-34 from the line and committed only one turnover compared to Wisconsin Dells' seven lost possessions. That one turnover came in the closing seconds of the first half, when a driving Tordoff lost the ball.
Also, the Cheesemakers were an improved 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) in the second half, finishing 20-for-44 (45.5 percent) in the game. Wisconsin Dells shot just 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) in the second half, including 1-for-11 from beyond the arc.
McArdle finished with 8 points, sophomore Michael Barrett had 13 and Bryan Tordoff scored 12.
Bryan Tordoff had seven points in the first half and Barrett had 5 in the opening quarters.
"That was huge. We can't be just a one-man show. A team is a team, and we share the ball, we share the wins and we share the losses," Tordoff said of his sophomore teammates.
"At this point in the season, everyone is playing as upperclassmen."
Royston scored 19 for the Chiefs and Gibson had 9.
The Cheesemakers now play Badger South rival Madison Edgewood on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Sun Prairie. Monroe swept the season series, with the second one an overtime win in Madison.
"We know Edgewood's a good team. It's hard to beat someone three times in a season, but we are going to go out there and play our game," McArdle said.
"I'm looking forward to Derek Braucht, and shutting him down."
In Monroe's two wins over the Crusaders this year, McArdle held Braucht, the conference's second leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, to 8 and 15 points.
Should Monroe win, it would be the third straight year the Cheesemakers would qualify for the State Tournament in Madison and fourth time in the past five years.
In 2007, Monroe won the Division 2 state title.
The Monroe senior was held to just two points in the first quarter, but scored when it counted to guide the Cheesemakers to a 69-58 win over the Chiefs in a Division 2 boys basketball sectional semifinal.
"The team looks up to its seniors, and me and Mitch (McArdle) are the captains, and we know what we have to do," Tordoff said.
Once again, McArdle played clamp-down defens - this time shutting down Wisconsin Dells' senior guard Jade Royston, who made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer Saturday to upend River Valley in the regional final.
"He's a great player. He's really fast, he can drive, and he's going to get his points," McArdle said of Royston.
Monroe started the game looking cold on offense.
After hitting nearly every shot they put up against Edgerton, the Cheesemakers found nothing but iron over the first two periods and trailed 33-27 at halftime.
"Our guys stepped up their game. They knew what they had to do and they made plays," head coach Pat Murphy said.
Monroe was lucky to be in the game at that point. The Cheesemakers shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first half, including just 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin Dells, on the other hand, shot 12-for-16 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
"This has happened to us before," Tordoff said of how well other teams have shot against Monroe.
"We've been down so much this season that we've grown to know how to come back. It was kind of the same thing in the Brodhead game."
In the second half, Tordoff (and the Cheesemakers) took over.
The senior guard nailed a 3-pointer moments into the third to give Monroe a bit of a spark.
However, Royston and 6-9 junior center Nate Gibson kept Monroe at bay, and Wisconsin Dells finished the third with a 46-41 lead.
The Cheesemakers had tied the score at 39-39 after a 3-pointer by McArdle with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third.
In the fourth, Monroe got back to the basics.
The Cheesemakers got a 3 off the bat from Tordoff and soon after took a 52-50 lead after he made a pair of free throws.
"(Shooting free throws) is like practice to me. We work on them all the time, I have no problem making them," Tordoff said.
The senior finished the night 14-for-14 from the line and scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, including 12 freebies.
Despite missing free throws early in the game, Monroe finished 23-for-34 from the line and committed only one turnover compared to Wisconsin Dells' seven lost possessions. That one turnover came in the closing seconds of the first half, when a driving Tordoff lost the ball.
Also, the Cheesemakers were an improved 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) in the second half, finishing 20-for-44 (45.5 percent) in the game. Wisconsin Dells shot just 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) in the second half, including 1-for-11 from beyond the arc.
McArdle finished with 8 points, sophomore Michael Barrett had 13 and Bryan Tordoff scored 12.
Bryan Tordoff had seven points in the first half and Barrett had 5 in the opening quarters.
"That was huge. We can't be just a one-man show. A team is a team, and we share the ball, we share the wins and we share the losses," Tordoff said of his sophomore teammates.
"At this point in the season, everyone is playing as upperclassmen."
Royston scored 19 for the Chiefs and Gibson had 9.
The Cheesemakers now play Badger South rival Madison Edgewood on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Sun Prairie. Monroe swept the season series, with the second one an overtime win in Madison.
"We know Edgewood's a good team. It's hard to beat someone three times in a season, but we are going to go out there and play our game," McArdle said.
"I'm looking forward to Derek Braucht, and shutting him down."
In Monroe's two wins over the Crusaders this year, McArdle held Braucht, the conference's second leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, to 8 and 15 points.
Should Monroe win, it would be the third straight year the Cheesemakers would qualify for the State Tournament in Madison and fourth time in the past five years.
In 2007, Monroe won the Division 2 state title.
