Monroe Central Wins Regional Championship Over Daleville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A power outage delayed the start of the game, but once play began, Monroe Central set the tone. In a tightly contested matchup, Monroe stayed a step ahead of Daleville with strong defense and timely scoring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Starting Lineups:</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Monroe Central:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2553970' first='Luke' last='Morgan'] (F), [player_tooltip player_id='2415962' first='Justus' last='Ullom'] (SR), [player_tooltip player_id='2808470' first='Easton' last='Foster'] (SR), Jackson Konkle (J), Carter Duncan (SR)<br><strong>Daleville:</strong> Noah Colvin (SR), Bryson Sigler (J), Cooper Sexton (SR), Hunter Suchyna (SR), Joshua Wilson (SR)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>First Quarter</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams moved the ball well early but struggled to convert. Monroe Central struck first at the six-minute mark with a corner three from Carter Duncan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daleville's Hunter Suchyna answered with a layup, then scored again in transition. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe's [player_tooltip player_id='2553970' first='Luke' last='Morgan'] pump faked three defenders before sinking a three-pointer, forcing Daleville to call timeout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe kept up the pressure after the break, forcing a turnover and moving the ball down the court. Duncan finished through contact and completed the and-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Suchyna remained aggressive, drawing a foul and making both free throws. Monroe's [player_tooltip player_id='2808470' first='Easton' last='Foster'] also got to the line, making one, grabbing his own rebound, and drawing another foul, pushing Monroe into the bonus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe controlled the pace and ended the first quarter up <strong>16-12.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Second Quarter</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daleville opened the quarter with a highlight play as Suchyna fired a behind-the-back bounce pass to Joshua Wilson for an easy layup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe's [player_tooltip player_id='2415962' first='Justus' last='Ullom'] responded with a layup before fouling Suchyna on a three-point attempt. Suchyna hit two of three free throws.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midway through the quarter, both teams received technical fouls. Suchyna and [player_tooltip player_id='2808470' first='Easton' last='Foster'] each made two of three free throws, bringing the score to <strong>25-19 Monroe Central.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams again started playing great defense, trading steals and deflections. Jackson Konkle broke the drought, hitting back-to-back mid-range jumpers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tashaun Beatty made an impact after checking in, with a steal and starting some good ball movement before finishing at the rim. He added two more baskets before halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe extended its lead, heading into the break up <strong>35-23.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Third Quarter</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe kept its starting lineup intact to begin the second half, except for Caleb Aikin, who subbed in and immediately scored a layup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Suchyna answered with a fast-break layup before Noah Colvin drilled a deep three to cut the deficit to <strong>37-32.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe called a timeout, then Carter Wheatley scored off a catch-and-shoot play. Daleville's Kavan Whitworth scored in transition, and Suchyna followed with a spinning layup, making it <strong>46-40 Monroe Central</strong> at the end of the third.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Fourth Quarter</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daleville struck first as Suchyna scored a layup. Beatty then picked up two quick fouls—one for a reach and the other was an over the back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Suchyna stayed hot, scoring with two layups on back-to-back possessions to bring Daleville within two at <strong>48-46.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moments later, he took a hard charge and never seemed to recover fully.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe took advantage. Beatty grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, pushing the lead to <strong>52-49.</strong> Daleville called timeout with four minutes left, trying to regroup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe stayed steady, going on a <strong>5-3 run</strong> to hold a <strong>57-52 lead.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daleville had one last push, with Suchyna pulling down three offensive rebounds, but neither he nor his teammates could finish. Forced to foul, Daleville couldn't close the gap, and Monroe Central secured a <strong>66-58</strong> victory to win the regional championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Conclusion</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe Central controlled the tempo, made key plays when needed, and defended well. Daleville, led by a strong performance from Suchyna, kept the game close but struggled to finish possessions late. With contributions from multiple players, Monroe earned the regional title and heads into the next round with momentum. Jackson Konkle was the stand out player for Monroe Central but the team won because of their chemistry and ability to move the ball and trust one an others abilities. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->