Verona outlasts Janesville Craig

In a high scoring affair Verona took down Janesville Craig 78-66. If I remember correctly Verona took the lead from the get go and never looked back. Craig kept the game close trailing by six to eight points nearly the entire game but, could never get over the hump and catch Verona. Both teams were looking to push the ball earlier but, in the end Verona's ball movement and passing were superior to Craig's.

In the first half Verona reallied on great ball movement to get open shots and spread the ball around. I can think of at least two or three fast break baskets that Verona got where the ball never touched the ground and they moved the ball the length of the court. Janesville Craig kept the game close behind the long range shooting of 6'3 senior Kyle Goike and the great defense of 6'6 senior Jojo Pregont. Pregont finished the game with six or seven blocks, four of which came in the first half while Goike his four first half three pointers. Verona junior 6'4 Sam Karls countered Goike with a pair of his own threes. Half time score was 43-35.

In the second half Janesville Craig came out in a 2-3 zone defense which gave Verona some trouble but, on the offensive end Craig was unable to capitalize. Verona was able to take control for good when Pregont went out with four fouls and Verona star 6'4 senior Jason Ziemer took over getting to the inside and scoring at will. By the time Pregont got back in the game Craig was already jacking up the threes and they weren't falling but, on the other side Verona wasn't hitting their free throws. Looking back in Craig would of just run their offense and shoot the two pointers instead of threes they may of been able to come back with Verona missing so many free throws. In the end Craig ended up clearing their bench with eight seconds left and called it a game.

Top Players
Jason Ziemer 6'4 senior Verona- Never stopped working in this game. Had a rough time in the first half getting blocked by Pregont a few times and missing a couple of wide open threes. Second half Ziemer dominated the game scoring at will on the inside.
Sam Karls 6'4 junior Verona- Does a little bit of everything scoring from three point range, on the side and knocks down the free throws. Also battled with the bigger Pregont all night long and did block him once late in the game.
JoJo Pregont 6'6 senior Janesville Craig- Great great shot blocker that controlled the game on the defensive end. Also was able to score on the offensive end when they did look to get him the ball on the inside.
A.J. Fredricks 6'2 senior Janesville Craig- Great one on one player that can score at will. Has a very solid jump shot and can finish at the rim with either hand.
Kyle Goike 6'3 senior Janesville Craig- Sharpshoot from three point range that can carry this team when he gets hot.
Brad Cagney 5'11 senior Janesville Craig- Very good spot up shooter that hit numerous mid range shots from the corners.

Box Score
Verona- Ziemer 23 Karls 18 Adams Wadzinski 11 Travis Schaaf 8 Matt Ropel 6 Taylor Peterson 5 Sam Riebau 5 Kaden Nauman 2 Scott Plato 0 Kevin Reinke 0 Scott Christensen 0
Janesville Craig- Fredricks 19 Pregont 16 Goike 15 Cagney 10 Joe Kennedy 0 Alex Lowe 2 Will Clanfield 2 Keith Wright 0 Brett Bates 0 Jon Condon 0 Mark Losching 0 Michael Pregont 0

Verona may not be the most impressive team when your just looking at them in warm ups but, they are a very fundamentally sound team that moves the ball extremely hard and work very very hard on the boards. Right now Janesville Craig appears to be headed in the wrong direction as the continue to lose. They appear to be a bit lost on the offense end as to who the go to player is. I think Pregont could probably be that guy but, they don't seem to interested in pounding it in to him. Goike is a great shooter but, falls in love with the three point shot, while Fredricks is the best at creating his own shot, the ball seems to stick in his hands at times and he forces some bad shots. Craig needs to get all their players on the same page and I believe that there is plenty of time for them to do this and right their season and finish strong.