MOUNT HOREB - The Monroe High School boys basketball team had defending WIAA Division 2 state champion Mount Horeb on the ropes Tuesday night, surging to a 12-point lead early in the second half.
But Mount Horeb responded with junior Quinn Doyle hitting three 3-pointers to help the Vikings rally for a comeback 67-64 win over the Cheesemakers in a regional quarterfinal.
"They punched us early on, and we responded," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "When they punched us late we didn't respond well. They earned the homecourt advantage. We went in there on a mission to win. When you lose it's tough to swallow. We had a fun season coaching the guys. We just wanted to keep it going."
Monroe senior Ben Latimer scored a team-high 19 points. Senior Brent Edmunds added 11 points. Both juniors Carter Sawdey and Alex Tordoff had 10 points. Junior Jake Kind chipped in nine points.
Edmunds knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Vikings' lead to 57-55 with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left. Mount Horeb senior Max Meylor then banked in a jumper to extend the Vikings' lead to 59-55 with 2:07 to go. The Vikings made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1 minute to seal the win. Mount Horeb senior Trey Recknor, who scored a game-high 20 points, made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 39.6 seconds.
Mount Horeb (13-10) opened the game with a 16-5 run. The Cheesemakers (6-17) answered with a 23-4 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Sawdey, Tordoff and sophomore David Keegan, to take a 26-20 lead. Latimer scored down low with 1:44 left to give the Cheesemakers a 28-20 lead. The Cheesemakers led at the half 28-22.
The second half started much the same way the first ended. Kind scored down low with 14 minutes left to give the Cheesemakers their largest lead at 37-25. The Vikings stormed back by hitting three straight 3-pointers, including two by Doyle, to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 41-39.
Doyle scored 14 points, all in the second half, and Meylor added 15 points. Doyle entered the game averaging just 2.8 points per game in the 12 games he played this year.
"It was a surprise," Murphy said of Doyle's 3-point shooting. "They (Mount Horeb) have a lot of weapons. We didn't have him as a major weapon. Hats off to Doyle for stepping up and making those shots."
Recknor had a steal and layup to give the Vikings a 49-45 lead with 7:33 left. Senior teammate Terek Nesheim scored on a putback to extend the Vikings' lead to 51-45.
The Cheesemakers didn't go away without a fight. Kind hit a 3-pointer with about 4 minutes left that cut the Vikings' lead to 54-50. Kind then scored on a layup with 3:30 to go that whittled the Vikings' lead down to 54-52.
"I thought for most of the game we were doing what we wanted," Murphy said. "We were rebounding and getting stops. Then we came to a point where it just stopped. We had to make a play, and we just came up a little bit short. We just didn't get enough rebounds."
Mount Horeb shot 13 of 21 from the free-throw line compared to 4 of 10 for the Cheesemakers.
"Latimer scored 19 points and didn't shoot one free throw," Murphy said. "I thought there was contact in there. When you have had a season like we have had it's easy to give up. We kept battling. I'm proud of our three seniors for keeping the team together and working hard."
But Mount Horeb responded with junior Quinn Doyle hitting three 3-pointers to help the Vikings rally for a comeback 67-64 win over the Cheesemakers in a regional quarterfinal.
"They punched us early on, and we responded," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said. "When they punched us late we didn't respond well. They earned the homecourt advantage. We went in there on a mission to win. When you lose it's tough to swallow. We had a fun season coaching the guys. We just wanted to keep it going."
Monroe senior Ben Latimer scored a team-high 19 points. Senior Brent Edmunds added 11 points. Both juniors Carter Sawdey and Alex Tordoff had 10 points. Junior Jake Kind chipped in nine points.
Edmunds knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Vikings' lead to 57-55 with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left. Mount Horeb senior Max Meylor then banked in a jumper to extend the Vikings' lead to 59-55 with 2:07 to go. The Vikings made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1 minute to seal the win. Mount Horeb senior Trey Recknor, who scored a game-high 20 points, made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 39.6 seconds.
Mount Horeb (13-10) opened the game with a 16-5 run. The Cheesemakers (6-17) answered with a 23-4 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Sawdey, Tordoff and sophomore David Keegan, to take a 26-20 lead. Latimer scored down low with 1:44 left to give the Cheesemakers a 28-20 lead. The Cheesemakers led at the half 28-22.
The second half started much the same way the first ended. Kind scored down low with 14 minutes left to give the Cheesemakers their largest lead at 37-25. The Vikings stormed back by hitting three straight 3-pointers, including two by Doyle, to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 41-39.
Doyle scored 14 points, all in the second half, and Meylor added 15 points. Doyle entered the game averaging just 2.8 points per game in the 12 games he played this year.
"It was a surprise," Murphy said of Doyle's 3-point shooting. "They (Mount Horeb) have a lot of weapons. We didn't have him as a major weapon. Hats off to Doyle for stepping up and making those shots."
Recknor had a steal and layup to give the Vikings a 49-45 lead with 7:33 left. Senior teammate Terek Nesheim scored on a putback to extend the Vikings' lead to 51-45.
The Cheesemakers didn't go away without a fight. Kind hit a 3-pointer with about 4 minutes left that cut the Vikings' lead to 54-50. Kind then scored on a layup with 3:30 to go that whittled the Vikings' lead down to 54-52.
"I thought for most of the game we were doing what we wanted," Murphy said. "We were rebounding and getting stops. Then we came to a point where it just stopped. We had to make a play, and we just came up a little bit short. We just didn't get enough rebounds."
Mount Horeb shot 13 of 21 from the free-throw line compared to 4 of 10 for the Cheesemakers.
"Latimer scored 19 points and didn't shoot one free throw," Murphy said. "I thought there was contact in there. When you have had a season like we have had it's easy to give up. We kept battling. I'm proud of our three seniors for keeping the team together and working hard."
