Sun Prairie upsets Madison Memorial

In possibly the biggest upset of the year Sun Prairie was able to take down Madison Memorial in overtime on a buzzer shot from a freshmen. Many people look at this game as showing that Memorial is not the team they were a year ago or what they were in years past and that they may no longer be the power they once were. On the other hand some people think that it just shows how tough the Big Eight conference actually is and this is the side that I find myself on. In the game Sun Prairie was very impressive and handle the Memorial pressure very well and looked confident throughout much of the game. Memorial is still a young team looking to find their way and are missing their second best player in 6'4 sophomore Junior Lomomba who will probably miss the entire regular season and may make it back come playoff time. Despite Sun Prairie winning this game I can't help but, think that when these two teams match up for a second time that Memorial will probably come out on top and it won't be by a buzzer shot or in overtime.

Early on in the game Memorial came out in their typical intense trapping defense but, Sun Prairie didn't falter and used the aggressive defense to their favor which led to some easy two on one layups. Memorial was headlined on the offensive end by a very impressive freshmen in 5'11 Brendan Ortiz who seemed to be knocking everything down with the mid range jump shot. When Ortiz did finally cool off Memorial went to their star 6'4 senior Vander Blue who seemed to get where ever he wanted on the court and out jump defenders to get second and third chances. Throughout the entire first half the Memorial defensive ended up giving the Sun Prairie open shots and it didn't seem to matter who it was shooting but, they were going to knock the shot down. One of the most impressive players of the first half and the game was 6'5 sophomore Jamar Morris who absolutely dominated the boards both on the defensive and offensive end. Half time score was Memorial 38 Sun Prairie 33.

The third quarter belonged to Sun Prairie junior 6'3 Jordan Noskowiak. He seemed to be knocking everything down whether it was spotting up for the outside or coming off the screen it didn't matter. For Memorial Blue cooled off and they continued to depend on the rebounding of Morris who seemed to have a handful of offensive rebounds just in the third quarter alone. At the end of three Memorial was still clinging to a 54-51 lead. In the fourth quarter Memorial senior 6'2 Tre Creamer finally showed up and was able to slash to the hoop and score. Despite Creamers best efforts Sun Prairie was able to tie the game up behind freshmen 6'4 Nick Fuller who hit a three from the top of the key midway through the fourth and then hit another from the corner to tie the game up with six seconds left in regulation. Blue took a contested three at the buzzer but, the shot fell short. Overtime didn't have a lot of scoring but, Jamar Morris emerged again as the hero grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled and went to the line with Memorial down by one. Morris had spent a lot of time throughout the night and struggled at the line which led to the Sun Prairie's students starting a "You Can't Shoot" chant but, Morris calmly knocked both down to give Memorial a one point lead. Sun Prairie senior point guard 6'1 Michael Boos drove the length of the court and pulled up for a jumper with a foot on the three point line. The shot didn't grab rim but, the rebound bounced off Morris's hands and right to Nick Fuller who layed in the game winning shot as the buzzer sounded. Sun Prairie got the W with a 79-78 final.

Top Players
Vander Blue 6'4 senior Madison Memorial- As I said earlier seemed to get anywhere he wanted on the court and was just the most athletic player on the court.
Jamar Morris 6'5 sophomore Madison Memorial- I can see now why they call him "Popcorn" kid can jump outta the gym and knocked down the free throws when they really mattered.
Brendan Ortiz 5'11 freshmen Madison Memorial- Did a great job of running the point for the team and when given the open shot knocked it down.
Tre Creamer 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Could go to his left at will and get to the rim.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 junior Sun Prairie- Was on fire in the game and everything he put up was dropping.
Nick Fuller 6'4 freshmen Sun Prairie- Was the hero of the night and basically said everything that was needed earlier.
Chris Hawkins 6'4 junior Sun Prairie- Did a nice job of battling on the inside Memorial just had more depth on the inside.

Box Score (starters in italics)
Memorial- Blue 21 Creamer 16 Morris 15 Ortiz 15 Tre Burnette 6 Eric Fruhling 3 Miles Chamberlain 2 Ed Kluender 0
SP- Noskowiak 26 Fuller 19 Hawkins 10 Boos 9 Jaron Schaffner 5 Daniel Mifflin 5 William Thiel 4 Reggie Williams 0

Should really be a great year in the Big Eight conference as it appears to be a four horse race after Friday night. Sun Prairie took down the favorite Madison Memorial and the other favorite Madison East was pushed to the limit by Beloit winning by only two, and Verona is always a team that can play with anyone. I'll get my first look at Verona Tuesday night when I head down to watch Memorial take on Verona.