MONROE, Wis. — A short trip down Highway 69 turned into a long night for the New Glarus Glarner Knights on Monday, as the Division 3 Knights ran into a fast, senior-heavy Monroe Cheesemakers squad in a nonconference matchup at Monroe High School.

Monroe pulled away early and never looked back, handing New Glarus a 55-21 halftime deficit on the way to a lopsided win in the final season of play inside Monroe’s historic gymnasium.

New Glarus entered the game 9-4 overall and unbeaten in Capitol-South Conference play at 3-0, while Monroe came in 9-5 overall and 5-2 in the Rock Valley Conference. The matchup also featured a size and depth challenge, with Division 2 Monroe boasting nearly twice the enrollment of the Knights.

The Cheesemakers set the tone almost immediately. Senior Mekhi Brown opened the scoring with a short jumper in the first minute, and although senior center Tatem Stampfli answered seconds later by muscling in a basket underneath, it would be as close as New Glarus would get all night. The score was tied 2-2 at the 16:43 mark before Monroe’s offense caught fire.