MONONA - With first place in the always competitive Badger South on the line, the Monroe boys basketball team came up with a big win on the road, knocking off Monona Grove, 59-52.
Monroe trailed 25-24 at halftime, before using a big third quarter to take the lead for good. The Cheesemakers outscored the Silver Eagles 18-7 in the third to take a 10 point lead into the final quarter. Monona Grove won the fourth by three, but it wasn't enough to get the win. Monroe coach Pat Murphy said the key in the third for the Cheesemakers was getting stops on the defensive end.
"We got stops,"he said. "The first half both teams were pretty much getting the shots they wanted. I don't think there was any big defensive change in the third, we were just able to get some stops."
Three Cheesemaker seniors scored in double figures Friday night. Monroe's leading scorer was Trent Wyssbrod, with 21 points. Alex Barenklau had 13 points, and Joe Latimer chipped in 12. Murphy was especially pleased with Wyssbrod's performance at the free throw line.
Said Murphy, "Trent was 10-14 from the line in the fourth. The thing I liked was that he missed his first three attempts, but he didn't get down on himself."
Murphy also said he was happy with his team's unselfish play.
"It was a total team effort, not caring who gets credit in the scoring column," he said. "You like being around guys like that."
Monroe improved to 10-1 overall with the win, and the Cheesemakers are now tied with Monona Grove atop the Badger South with a 3-1 mark in conference. While this was a big win for the Cheesemakers, there's still work to be done in their quest for a conference championship.
"We want to stay in the hunt," said Murphy. "We have another road game coming up. It's never easy on the road. We want to be in the conversation the last week of the season. We'll relish every opportunity we get, including next Friday at Milton."
Monroe trailed 25-24 at halftime, before using a big third quarter to take the lead for good. The Cheesemakers outscored the Silver Eagles 18-7 in the third to take a 10 point lead into the final quarter. Monona Grove won the fourth by three, but it wasn't enough to get the win. Monroe coach Pat Murphy said the key in the third for the Cheesemakers was getting stops on the defensive end.
"We got stops,"he said. "The first half both teams were pretty much getting the shots they wanted. I don't think there was any big defensive change in the third, we were just able to get some stops."
Three Cheesemaker seniors scored in double figures Friday night. Monroe's leading scorer was Trent Wyssbrod, with 21 points. Alex Barenklau had 13 points, and Joe Latimer chipped in 12. Murphy was especially pleased with Wyssbrod's performance at the free throw line.
Said Murphy, "Trent was 10-14 from the line in the fourth. The thing I liked was that he missed his first three attempts, but he didn't get down on himself."
Murphy also said he was happy with his team's unselfish play.
"It was a total team effort, not caring who gets credit in the scoring column," he said. "You like being around guys like that."
Monroe improved to 10-1 overall with the win, and the Cheesemakers are now tied with Monona Grove atop the Badger South with a 3-1 mark in conference. While this was a big win for the Cheesemakers, there's still work to be done in their quest for a conference championship.
"We want to stay in the hunt," said Murphy. "We have another road game coming up. It's never easy on the road. We want to be in the conversation the last week of the season. We'll relish every opportunity we get, including next Friday at Milton."
