MONROE - Junior guard Alex Tordoff didn't expect Monona Grove to switch to a 1-2-2 zone in the second half and see the turnovers pile up for the Monroe High School boys basketball team.
Monroe had a two-point lead early in the second half, but the Silver Eagles' defensive adjustment bottled up the Cheesemakers and helped them roll to a 63-44 win.
The Cheesemakers had 24 turnovers and Monona Grove (8-1,
4-0 Badger South) went on a 13-0 run after employing the zone that allowed the Silver Eagles to push the tempo and score in transition.
"I thought we played them pretty good 5-on-5," Tordoff said. "Their zone really gave us a lot of problems. It led to a lot of turnovers and layups for them. We knew they could go zone. We thought they would go mostly man. We didn't practice against that (zone) as much."
Monona Grove junior Jarret Maier and senior Myles Thomas both had steals and layups to spark the spurt. Monona Grove senior Peyton Mueller came up with a steal that led to a layup for Thomas to give the Silver Eagles a 44-33 lead with 10 minutes, 23 seconds left in the second half. Mueller later drilled a
3-pointer to give the Silver Eagles a 55-38 lead.
"It's something they have in their arsenal," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said of the Silver Eagles' 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 zones. "When you have that many turnovers, it's tough to come back because they are always in transition."
Thomas scored a game-high 21 points, and senior Luke Nelson had 13 points.
Tordoff scored a team-high 14 points and had seven rebounds, and sophomore Hunter Ward added 10 points for Monroe (2-7, 1-4 Badger South).
Early on, it looked like the Cheesemakers, who were playing without 6-foot-5 senior Ben Latimer, would push the Silver Eagles to the wire. Monroe junior Carter Sawdey hit a jumper and Ward knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 17-10 lead with 9:38 left in the first half. The Silver Eagles went on an 11-0 run and took a 21-17 lead on Thomas' layup with 5:04 to go. Despite going through a 7-minute scoring drought, the Cheesemakers trailed the Silver Eagles by just four points at the half, 27-23.
Ward scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Ward was 4-for-6 shooting in the first half and knocked down two 3-pointers.
Monroe junior Jake Kind scored seven points and had five rebounds. Sawdey chipped in six points.
"We need scoring from wherever we can get it," Murphy said. "It's just feed the fire. Our guys did a good job of getting Hunter touches in the first half. He (Ward) didn't get enough touches in the second half."
Murphy wants to see the Cheesemakers make some improvements in attacking a zone defense.
"You try to stem the tide by taking a timeout," Murphy said of his intention in the midst of the Silver Eagles' second-half run. "We were not aggressive enough attacking the basket. We didn't make enough threes and didn't get enough offensive rebounds."
The Cheesemakers made just 7 of 16 free throws. It's an area Murphy has been stressing in practice.
"We have to get better at free throws," he said.
Monroe will play a Snack Bowl game at Freeport on Saturday. The Monroe girls basketball team will play Freeport at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and the boys game will follow at about 7:30 p.m.
"We will see the same thing from Freeport," Murphy said. "They will pressure and trap us. There are no ifs, ands or buts, we have to do a better job against the pressure."
Tordoff likes the fact that the Cheesemakers will only have to wait one day before getting back on the court to take on the Pretzels.
"I think with a game on Saturday we have a chance to prove ourselves and we can put this game behind us," Tordoff said. "It's just a matter of whether we can close out the game or not."
Monroe had a two-point lead early in the second half, but the Silver Eagles' defensive adjustment bottled up the Cheesemakers and helped them roll to a 63-44 win.
The Cheesemakers had 24 turnovers and Monona Grove (8-1,
4-0 Badger South) went on a 13-0 run after employing the zone that allowed the Silver Eagles to push the tempo and score in transition.
"I thought we played them pretty good 5-on-5," Tordoff said. "Their zone really gave us a lot of problems. It led to a lot of turnovers and layups for them. We knew they could go zone. We thought they would go mostly man. We didn't practice against that (zone) as much."
Monona Grove junior Jarret Maier and senior Myles Thomas both had steals and layups to spark the spurt. Monona Grove senior Peyton Mueller came up with a steal that led to a layup for Thomas to give the Silver Eagles a 44-33 lead with 10 minutes, 23 seconds left in the second half. Mueller later drilled a
3-pointer to give the Silver Eagles a 55-38 lead.
"It's something they have in their arsenal," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said of the Silver Eagles' 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 zones. "When you have that many turnovers, it's tough to come back because they are always in transition."
Thomas scored a game-high 21 points, and senior Luke Nelson had 13 points.
Tordoff scored a team-high 14 points and had seven rebounds, and sophomore Hunter Ward added 10 points for Monroe (2-7, 1-4 Badger South).
Early on, it looked like the Cheesemakers, who were playing without 6-foot-5 senior Ben Latimer, would push the Silver Eagles to the wire. Monroe junior Carter Sawdey hit a jumper and Ward knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 17-10 lead with 9:38 left in the first half. The Silver Eagles went on an 11-0 run and took a 21-17 lead on Thomas' layup with 5:04 to go. Despite going through a 7-minute scoring drought, the Cheesemakers trailed the Silver Eagles by just four points at the half, 27-23.
Ward scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Ward was 4-for-6 shooting in the first half and knocked down two 3-pointers.
Monroe junior Jake Kind scored seven points and had five rebounds. Sawdey chipped in six points.
"We need scoring from wherever we can get it," Murphy said. "It's just feed the fire. Our guys did a good job of getting Hunter touches in the first half. He (Ward) didn't get enough touches in the second half."
Murphy wants to see the Cheesemakers make some improvements in attacking a zone defense.
"You try to stem the tide by taking a timeout," Murphy said of his intention in the midst of the Silver Eagles' second-half run. "We were not aggressive enough attacking the basket. We didn't make enough threes and didn't get enough offensive rebounds."
The Cheesemakers made just 7 of 16 free throws. It's an area Murphy has been stressing in practice.
"We have to get better at free throws," he said.
Monroe will play a Snack Bowl game at Freeport on Saturday. The Monroe girls basketball team will play Freeport at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and the boys game will follow at about 7:30 p.m.
"We will see the same thing from Freeport," Murphy said. "They will pressure and trap us. There are no ifs, ands or buts, we have to do a better job against the pressure."
Tordoff likes the fact that the Cheesemakers will only have to wait one day before getting back on the court to take on the Pretzels.
"I think with a game on Saturday we have a chance to prove ourselves and we can put this game behind us," Tordoff said. "It's just a matter of whether we can close out the game or not."
