Madison East gains sole possession of conference lead

I didn't see Madison East's two losses but, when I have seen East play they really seem to be on a mission to get to state and make a push for the title. Combine that with a Madison Memorial loss on Friday and their roller coaster play all year long, East seems more and more likely to win conference and to represent the Middleton Sectional at state, which has been dominated by Memorial as of late. Despite all this I'm still somewhat unsure of picking East to get to state. I feel that if Marquis Mason or Nimrod Hillard get in foul trouble or injured East will have a hard time beating some of the top teams in their conference and sectional.

Yes I did imply that East is a two man team but, in the game against Sun Prairie Friday night the rest of the team came up huge and really showed that they can make the plays when called upon. Mason and Hillard where their normal impressive selves but, they just didn't need to score as much as a pair of seniors 6'2 Drew McAdams and 6'4 Jeff Hull came up very big in this game. Early on Hillard started out very strong using his killer cross over to get to the rim and was able to finish with a couple of very nice floaters. Hull was a nice sidekick to Hillard early on as Hull knocked down a pair of 15 footers and then showed some nice post moves on the inside to score. On the other side Sun Prairie's senior leader 6'2 Michael Boos was absolutely lighting it up early in the game. Boos was able to hit shots coming off the screen and off the dribble. End of first quarter was 15-15. In the second quarter McAdams made his appearance for East and was probably the player of the game. In the past McAdams always struggled with his outside shooting but, tonight he just couldn't miss as he was hitting threes and deep twos all night long. Boos got some help from his teammates from long range as 5'11 junior Jaron Schaffner and 6'4 freshmen Nick Fuller each hit at least one three point shot. This game was really back and forth as the halftime score was East up 32-30.

In the second half East went cold from the field and started turning the ball over and only scored nine points. Sun Prairie was able to take advantage of this as Schaffner was able to get to the hoop and score, while Fuller was able to keep up the hot outside shooting. This was good for Sun Praire because Boos basically disappeared in the second half. SP also got a nice push from their bench as 6'4 junior Daniel Mifflin scored six points all in the third quarter I believe. This all led to a 44-41 Sun Prairie lead after three quarters. In the fourth quarter East was able to take the lead back for good behind their strong rebounding from Mason, McAdams, and Hull. McAdams really showed up big as he continued his torrid shooting from the outside and made all the little plays. McAdams was on a two on one break away and when it appeared his was going in for the layup he found teammate Nimrod Hillard with a beautiful behind the back pass. Then on a missed Mason free throw, McAdams was able to secure a rebound from four Sun Prairie defenders and get fouled and go back to the line. The final play was where Mc Adams dove for a loose ball with about 15 seconds left and he couldn't find an open teammate for he just threw the ball over his head to the other end of the court running about eight seconds off the clock. Game was sealed when Jaron Schaffner drove the lane and Mason blocked the shot off the backboard and then the ball hit Schaffner in the back of the foot and the ball went out of bounds.

Top Players
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 junior Madison East- Best cross over in the state and showcased a very floater in the lane.
Drew Mc Adams 6'2 senior Madison East- Basically said it all. Shot the lights out and did all the little things to key the victory.
Jeff Hull 6'4 senior Madison East- Was able to hit the 15 foot jumper and showed some very nice moves in the post with his back to the basket.
Marquis Mason 6'4 senior Madison East- Did it all tonight. Dominated the paint on the offensive and defensive end. Had 13 points, double digit rebounds, and probably a handful of blocks.
Jaron Schaffner 5'11 junior Sun Prairie- Came off the bench with 14 points. Hit the outside shoot and wasn't afraid to penetrate to the inside and score.
Michael Boos 6'2 senior Sun Prairie- Couldn't miss in the first half, hitting everything he put up. Did kind of disappear in the second half though.
Nick Fuller 6'4 freshmen Sun Prairie- Had a very nice night shooting from the outside lead the team with 15 points.

Box Score starters in Italics
Madison East- Hillard 16 Mc Adams 16 Mason 13 Hull 12 Rudly Bentley 4 Durley 2
Sun Prairie- Fuller 15 Schaffner 14 Boos 13 Jordan Noskowiak 7 Mifflin 6 Chris Hawkins 2 William Thiel 0 Chris Kujawski 0

It appears that Madison East is looking to get their playoff rotation set as they only went six deep in the game. East looks very impressive and like I said earlier appears to be ready to make a run at a state title and they could very well do just that. Sun Prairie is a very confusing team. Against teams like East and Memorial they play extremely close but, then they will lose to teams that are middle of the road teams. They will probably make a decent run in the playoffs and beat some decent teams specially considering they are in the toughest sectional in the state.