STOUGHTON - Brett Stangel's swagger is back. Even with a limp.
The Monroe senior guard came up gingerly with only three minutes gone in the game after landing on Stoughton senior guard Malcolm Calbert's foot, but scored 15 points and hit a back-breaking fourth-quarter triple in the Cheesemakers' 50-43 dogfight victory on the road Friday night.
"I didn't want to stay out because then it gets stiff," Stangel said. "I just wanted to keep moving and I got it loose."
As loose as Stangel's right ankle was feeling late, the Vikings (6-7 overall, 4-4 Badger South Conference) kept the game tight and only trailed the Cheesemakers (13-0, 8-0 Badger South), 38-33, heading in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings' playmaker Calbert gave the Cheesemakers fits and helped cut the lead to three at 38-35 when he dropped a perfect bounce pass to senior A.J. Coon between two defenders for an easy layin. Monroe senior center Tony Cates pushed the lead back to five when he corralled a loose ball all alone on the left block after two Vikings couldn't reel it in for two.
One minute later, Calbert - who had a team-high 12 points - walked the ball up the right side and released a quick triple from right of the key that found the bottom of the net and made it a one-possession game with 4 minutes, 37 seconds to play.
Cheesemakers head coach Pat Murphy was impressed with how much the Vikings' offensive ran through Calbert and how he found his teammates in prime position against Monroe's pressure man-to-man defense.
"Calbert's a hand full," Murphy said. "That's what makes them so hard. They've got five guys on the floor that can all do something. They can shoot the 3s. They pass and cut."
After each squad had an empty possession, Stangel reminded Stoughton and Monroe's crowd who was last season's WIAA Division 2 State Tournament Most Valuable Player. Stangel came off a perfect ball-screen for Chase Sellnow along the baseline and got open in the right corner to sink the 3-pointer for a 43-38 lead with three-and-a-half to play.
"We didn't switch like we were supposed to," Stoughton head coach Mike Hintz said of Stangel's free release.
Stangel was proud to see the bench guys play a key role in a fourth quarter that had junior leader Mitch Tordoff on the bench with four personal fouls for an extended period of time.
"Our coaches said that's the hardest we've played all year," Stangel said. "We stepped up when we needed to."
The second backbreaking play against the Vikings came at the end of the first half when Calbert bailed out the Cheesemakers with a pushing foul on Sellnow underneath the rim with 1.2 seconds. Tordoff made a high-arching inbound pass to the last option Jake Grinnel sitting 30-feet behind the three-point line that the junior drilled as the buzzer sounded.
"Our guy just didn't remember the scouting report," Hintz said. "That's a shooter from anywhere. The kid his three on us last game."
Murphy was excited to see that Stangel and Cates where able to get into double digit scoring - even when team only scored 50 points - to take some of the scoring pressure of Mitch Tordoff.
"That's a huge step for our guys tonight, knowing that we're not just one guy and that we need other guys to fill roles," Murphy said.
Hintz and his Vikings have given the Cheesemakers all they can handle in two conference matchups, only losing by a combined 13 points. The two teams won't meet up again this year as Stoughton plays in Division 1 during the postseason, but the coach sees that his Vikings are closing the gap in the Badger South.
"They're a great team, but from this we have to look at the positives," Hintz said. "Everyone says they're the better team in the area...we're not far behind then."
Monroe extended its epic winning streak to 29 games and will lace them up once again Tuesday night at home versus Oregon.
The Monroe senior guard came up gingerly with only three minutes gone in the game after landing on Stoughton senior guard Malcolm Calbert's foot, but scored 15 points and hit a back-breaking fourth-quarter triple in the Cheesemakers' 50-43 dogfight victory on the road Friday night.
"I didn't want to stay out because then it gets stiff," Stangel said. "I just wanted to keep moving and I got it loose."
As loose as Stangel's right ankle was feeling late, the Vikings (6-7 overall, 4-4 Badger South Conference) kept the game tight and only trailed the Cheesemakers (13-0, 8-0 Badger South), 38-33, heading in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings' playmaker Calbert gave the Cheesemakers fits and helped cut the lead to three at 38-35 when he dropped a perfect bounce pass to senior A.J. Coon between two defenders for an easy layin. Monroe senior center Tony Cates pushed the lead back to five when he corralled a loose ball all alone on the left block after two Vikings couldn't reel it in for two.
One minute later, Calbert - who had a team-high 12 points - walked the ball up the right side and released a quick triple from right of the key that found the bottom of the net and made it a one-possession game with 4 minutes, 37 seconds to play.
Cheesemakers head coach Pat Murphy was impressed with how much the Vikings' offensive ran through Calbert and how he found his teammates in prime position against Monroe's pressure man-to-man defense.
"Calbert's a hand full," Murphy said. "That's what makes them so hard. They've got five guys on the floor that can all do something. They can shoot the 3s. They pass and cut."
After each squad had an empty possession, Stangel reminded Stoughton and Monroe's crowd who was last season's WIAA Division 2 State Tournament Most Valuable Player. Stangel came off a perfect ball-screen for Chase Sellnow along the baseline and got open in the right corner to sink the 3-pointer for a 43-38 lead with three-and-a-half to play.
"We didn't switch like we were supposed to," Stoughton head coach Mike Hintz said of Stangel's free release.
Stangel was proud to see the bench guys play a key role in a fourth quarter that had junior leader Mitch Tordoff on the bench with four personal fouls for an extended period of time.
"Our coaches said that's the hardest we've played all year," Stangel said. "We stepped up when we needed to."
The second backbreaking play against the Vikings came at the end of the first half when Calbert bailed out the Cheesemakers with a pushing foul on Sellnow underneath the rim with 1.2 seconds. Tordoff made a high-arching inbound pass to the last option Jake Grinnel sitting 30-feet behind the three-point line that the junior drilled as the buzzer sounded.
"Our guy just didn't remember the scouting report," Hintz said. "That's a shooter from anywhere. The kid his three on us last game."
Murphy was excited to see that Stangel and Cates where able to get into double digit scoring - even when team only scored 50 points - to take some of the scoring pressure of Mitch Tordoff.
"That's a huge step for our guys tonight, knowing that we're not just one guy and that we need other guys to fill roles," Murphy said.
Hintz and his Vikings have given the Cheesemakers all they can handle in two conference matchups, only losing by a combined 13 points. The two teams won't meet up again this year as Stoughton plays in Division 1 during the postseason, but the coach sees that his Vikings are closing the gap in the Badger South.
"They're a great team, but from this we have to look at the positives," Hintz said. "Everyone says they're the better team in the area...we're not far behind then."
Monroe extended its epic winning streak to 29 games and will lace them up once again Tuesday night at home versus Oregon.
