Down by seven in the final minutes, Monroe got a layup with one second left in regulation to tie, then held on to win in overtime 59-57 on Tuesday night over Oregon.
Carson Leuzinger's layup brought Monroe back from down seven in the final three minutes to tie the game at 52, and in overtime, Leuzinger added three clutch free throws to lift the Cheesemakers to a big road conference win.
Playing without leading scorer and returning all-conference selection Cade Meyer for the second straight game, Monroe was able to hang with the Panthers throughout much of regulation. Oregon got a steady stream of scoring from their own returning all-conference player, Erik Victorson, who finished with a game-high 22 points. That allowed the Panthers to lead for most of regulation in the contest.
Without Meyer, Monroe turned to Leuzinger and others for production, particularly defensively. While Oregon did get 22 from their leading scorer, no other Panther reached double figures. In addition to Leuzinger's team-high 18 points, senior Aaron Ziolkowski scored 14, while emerging guard Tyler Matley scored a season-high 12.
With the win, Monroe stays one game back of Stoughton in the Badger South Conference chase.
Monroe (13-4, 8-2): Carson Leuzinger 18, Aaron Ziolkowski 14, Tyler Matley 12, Max Golembiewski 6, J.T. Seagreaves 4, Logan Leuzinger 3, Caleb Bunker 2
Oregon (6-10, 2-8): Erik Victorson 22, Isaac Gard 8, Ben Statz 8, Ryan McCorkle 7, Brandon Kerns 6, Ryne Panzer 3, Ethan Uhlmann 3