MONROE — Cole Parker led a strong defensive effort and Monroe turned up the offense in the second half to defeat Kamiak 43-30 in a Wesco 4A game Tuesday in Monroe.
Parker, a 6-foot-7 senior, had just four points but blocked seven shots as the Bearcats won despite scoring their fewest point this season. Kamiak was also held to a season-low in points.
The win combined with Arlington’s loss to Jackson gave Monroe sole possession of first place in the Wesco North.
“It was a defensive struggle,” Monroe coach Nick Wold said. “Kamiak played really well defensively and there was some cold shooting by both teams in the first half.”
Monroe led 13-12 at halftime but outscored Kamiak 30-18 in the second half as Slava Ulanovskiy sank two big 3-pointers in the third quarter to get the Bearcats going. Ulanovskiy had 12 points, Tom Meeus scored 13 and Joey Roppo scored 10 for Monroe.
Ron Manchester scored 10 points for Kamiak.
“We were able to keep them out of the middle of the floor and Cole Parker was a force in the paint,” Wold said. “We had good looks in the first half, they just weren’t falling. We got a little more aggressive in the second half and the tide turned a little for us. The one thing that was consistent was our defense, that something we’ve been able to fall back on when our offense is off.”
Monroe’s defense will be tested in a big way Thursday when it travels to Jackson for a matchup of two of the top teams in Wesco 4A.
At Monroe H.S.
Kamiak 7 5 11 7 — 30
Monroe 7 6 15 15 — 43
Kamiak—Wisnubroto 6, Berg 1, Carlson 0, Kussman 6, Erickson 0, Self 2, Manchester 10, O’Brien 0, Vicente 2, Blacksmith 3. Monroe—Roppo 10, Bunge 2, Turner 0, Drivstuen 0, Peloquin 2, Ulanovskiy 12, Reilly 0, Meeus 13, Parker 4. 3-point goals—Roppo 1, Ulanovskiy 3, Wisnubroto 1, Kussman 1, Manchester 1. Records—Kamiak 2-5 league, 6-6 overall. Monroe 7-1, 10-3.
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