Big Eight Shootout Day 2

Well the second day of the Big Eight Shootout was even better then the first day, at least for me. I was able to watch three of the four boys games that were played and two of the three games were very exciting close games and the third game I witnessed one of the best performances I have ever seen by a single player.

Madison East 60 Eau Claire Memorial 43
East jumped to an early lead and never looked back as this game was never really in question. There was one single reason for the outcome of this game, Marquis Mason. As I had predicted Memorial had no one that could guard Mason but, I never expected him to do what he did. Mason went off to score 37 of his teams 60 points and did it in many different ways, scoring on dunks, with his back to the basket, from the free throw line, pulling up for 15 footers, and even went 3 for 4 from the three point line. The game was highlighted by a trio of dunks from Mason, a power two handed dunk on the break, a drop step dunk in traffic, and finalized with a reverse dunk on the break.

Madison East will probably not have as easy a time as they did today the majority of the Big Eight season. Mason is the only really true scoring threat and if a team can focus on him and slow him down (I don't think he can be completely stopped) East will probably get blown out. I still see East as a 500 team being able to beat the lower teams in the conference but, not being able to hang with the top guys.

EC Memorial will also probably be a middle of the pack team in the Big Rivers conference. The won't see a lot of guys like Mason in conference but, will probably struggle against Eau Claire North and Rice Lake who have some pretty good big men.

Top Scorers
Madison East- Marquis Mason 37 Devin Murray 6 Al Mayne 5
Eau Claire Memorial- Keegan Meier 18 Collin Cooper 15 Andrew Kasmarek 4

Lacrosse Aquinas 86 Madison West 77
West caught Aquinas off guard with the uptempo style play and took the early lead. In the second quarter was able to match the Regents fast break style and take the lead and by the time the game ended it was the Blugolds who ran the athletic West team out of the gym. Not a big surprised that Aquinas was able to run because that is all they did last year but, this years team only returns two of those players from that team. This was a coming out party for Aquinas point guard Jimmy Whitehead who coming into this game was pretty much unheard of and had not played a varsity game. Whitehead finished with 26 points and did a great job of breaking West's press and running the Aquinas offense.

Aquinas will once again be a state champion threat in Division three. They have a very solid top six players that are as good as anyone in division three and should be in the top three in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

West is one of the most undisciplined team I've seen in awhile. They have a lot of athletes but, just take a lot of bad shots and do way too much one on one play. Will once again probably find themselves in the bottom third of the Big Eight.

Top Scorers
Lacrosse Aquinas- Jimmy Whitehead 26 Zach Rickaway 15 Mike Hanson 14 Lucas Morrissey 13
Madison West- Michael Collins 29 Corvonn Gaine 17 Deon Johnson 14 Michael Horton 11

Janesville Craig 63 Madison Edgewood 52
This game was won by Craig simply because they were the bigger team. Craig was bigger at every position and sat back in a zone the entire game. Craig's height and zone kept Edgewood from being able to get inside, forcing Edgewood to really have to earn every bucket that they scored. On the offensive end Craig was able to get second and third chances which allowed for a lot of easy layups. As every Edgewood team though they played their hearts out the entire game and kept the game close until half way through the fourth quarter when Edgewood just ran out of energy.

With Craig's height and zone they should be able to beat anyone in the conference and the state but, they will probably run into a team that will be hot from the outside and loose a game or two in conference. Craig is easily the pick of the Big Eight and should be looking at a trip to state.

Edgewood is a very good team that plays very very hard. As usual they do lack height which will give them trouble at times but, they should be able to combat that with high energy play and good teamwork. Edgewood will once again battle with Verona and Monroe for the Badger South title.

Top Scorers
Janesville Craig- Lucas Burns 24 Jojo Pregont 17 Joey Kennedy 10
Madison Edgewood- Derek Braucht 17 Garrie Fox 9 Casey Balczewski 8

Top Players from Day 2
Marquis Mason 6'5 sophomore forward Madison East- Said it all earlier, really is an amazing player and has really improved his outside game. Improves his right hand he may be impossible to stop.
Keegan Meier 6'3 junior forward Eau Claire Memorial- Very good shooter from 15 foot to three point range. Did his best to keep this game respectable.
Collin Cooper 6'3 senior forward Eau Claire Memorial- Hustle player that scores most of his points that way. Has a very good running floater.
Jimmy Whitehead 6'1 junior guard Lacrosse Aquinas- Handles the ball very very well. Has a very good pull up jumper that he uses in transition and is able to finish in the lane with acrobatic shots.
Lucas Morrissey 6'3 senior guard Lacrosse Aquinas- Does all the little things to help his team out. Rebounds well. always sets his teammates up for open shots, and will also score when it is necessary. Really helped Aquinas bring the ball up against the pressure defense.
Zach Rickaway 6'3 senior forward Lacrosse Aquinas- Another guy that really helped bring the ball up against the press and can score with his back to the basket or from the three point line.
Mike Hanson 6'6 junior forward Lacrosse Aquinas- Has a very nice touch for a big man out to the three point line, also runs the floor really well.
Michael Collins 6'3 senior guard Madison West- Has an awkward looking shot but, shoots the three really well and does a good job of getting inside and drawing fouls.
Corvonn Gaines 6'5 senior forward Madison West- Can hit the three when open and runs the court really well.
Deon Johnson 6'4 senior guard Madison West- Can jump out of the gym and does a nice jump crashing the boards. Had a nice put back dunk.
Michael Horton 6'2 senior guard Madison West- Handles the ball very well and can hit the three if left open.
Lucas Burns 6'6 senior forward Janesville Craig- Very smooth player that can hit anything from anywhere on the court. Went 12 for 12 from the free throw line.
Jojo Pregont 6'6 junior center Janesville Craig- Really strong with the ball inside and is able to score in a variety of ways from the inside.
Derek Braucht 6'6 junior forward Madison Edgewood- Very good shooter from the outside and was able to penetrate to score or find the open teammate.
Casey Balcewski 6'4 senior forward Madison Edgewood- Edgewood's leader on the floor, did a good job of battling the taller Craig players and really got the offense going from the high post finding open teammates or scoring.

In the other game I missed Janesville Parker beat Clinton and yesterday Sun Praire beat Stoughton which ran the Big Eights record to a respectable record of 5-3 in the shootout which is opposite of the 3-5 I predicted. So for the season I am 3-5 on my predictions, not so good but, hope to do better in the following weeks. Rankings of these teams to follow in the next few days and rankings of top players from the shootout.