Monroe races to top

Published 11:21 pm Tuesday, December 21, 2010

ARLINGTON — The senior-powered Monroe Bearcats started incredibly fast, endured a frantic finish and grabbed a coveted prize: First place in the division.

After exploding during a hot first quarter in which it made five 3-point shots and scored 27 points, the Monroe High School boys basketball team withstood the Arlington Eagles’ late surge and prevailed 66-63 on Tuesday. Going into the highly anticipated Western Conference 4A North Division battle, the teams were tied for first place in the league standings. But now Monroe (5-0 in North games) has a slight edge over Arlington (4-1).

How does it feel to stand alone atop the division?

“It means everything,” said Monroe guard Joey Roppo, one of the Bearcats’ 10 seniors. “All the hard work we put in during the summer and all of our conditioning finally paid off.”

Roppo (17 points, six assists) and versatile 6-foot-7 senior post Cole Parker (18 points, 14 rebounds) were the top scorers for Monroe, which built a 58-42 lead after Parker sank two foul shots with 4 minutes, 51 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. However, Arlington used pressure defense and outstanding free-throw shooting to generate a stunning 21-6 scoring run.

The final basket of Arlington’s spurt was a floater in the lane by Eric Carlson (13 points), cutting the deficit to 64-63 with 14 seconds to go. Two seconds later, Roppo made two free throws. Arlington guard Griffin Ginnis got an open 3-point attempt at the other end, but his potential game-tying shot bounced off the rim in the final seconds.

Arlington senior point guard Zach Cooper scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, when the Eagles outscored Monroe 27-19 and turned what seemed like a potential blowout into an intense ending.

Although he was proud of how his team roared back, Arlington coach Nick Brown said the Eagles’ early struggles were the difference in their first league loss of the season.

“We cranked it up too late,” Brown said, “and when you do that against a good team like Monroe they’re going to get you.”

In the first quarter, Monroe confidently connected on open shots from inside and outside. The Bearcats built leads of 14-5 and 21-8, and they had a 27-10 advantage going into the second quarter. Four Monroe players (Parker, Slava Ulanovskiy, Evan Turner and Carl Bunge) made at least one 3 in the opening period; Parker, a tough-to-defend big man, sank two.

Thanks to a large core of seniors who have experience running Monroe’s offense, the Bearcats are capable of big scoring outbursts this season, Monroe coach Nick Wold said.

“I think we always have been able to have a high-powered offense, but we finally believe in it now,” Wold said.

“Monroe came out on fire,” Brown said. “They just didn’t miss a shot. I thought it was going to be the other way around.”

Sparked by Carlson’s seven second-quarter points, Arlington cut the deficit to six (32-26) by halftime. The Eagles stumbled again in the third quarter but rallied down the stretch.

However, Monroe’s excellent free-throw shooting helped the Bearcats hang on. Monroe made 12 of 15 foul shots in the final period. Roppo was 3-for-4 and Parker, the tallest player on the floor, was 6-for-7.

Overall, Parker and Roppo combined to make 15 of 19 free throws.

“We’ve always shot free throws really well, including our post players,” Wold said, “which I think is kind of an anomaly.”

To its credit, Arlington was also stellar at the foul line in the fourth quarter, led by Cooper (7-for-7) and junior forward Bo Brummel (6-for-6).

“Cooper is lightning quick and he’s tough to handle,” Wold said.

Monroe and Arlington both play a few non-league games during Christmas break before returning to division action. Their rematch is Feb. 2 at Monroe.

At Arlington H.S.

Monroe2751519—66

Arlington10161027—63

Monroe—Roppo 17, Drivstuen, Ulanovskiy 7, Meeus 3, Parker 18, Reilly 4, Turner 11, Pham, Bunge 6. Arlington—Cooper 24, Ginnis 5, Petersen 7, Carlson 13, Brummel 10, Dawn 4, Ladines, Cummings, Goheen, Boyden. 3-point goals—Roppo 1, Ulanovskiy 1, Parker 2, Turner 2, Bunge 2, Cooper 3, Ginnis 1. Records-Monroe 5-0 in division, 6-0 overall. Arlington 4-1 6-2.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.