2nd round upset Edgewood takes down Portage

In my second game of the playoffs I witnessed my second upset as Madison Edgewood took down Portage 50-49. Originally I thought this to only be a minor upset but, the more I think about it, it seems to be a major upset. Portage had already defeated Edgewood by about 20 at the Badger Challenge and many people thought Portage was a given to get to sectionals and some even thought they were a state bound team. Not to mention watching warm ups I thought Portage would take this game easily. I should learn though no matter what an Edgewood team looks like and no matter what preconceived notions there are, never underestimate a team coached by Chris Zwettler. They may not be the best team or most athletic but, they will give it their all. I have always loved watching Edgewood teams play even though they aren't always the best team they will always give you a good hard fought game.

Early on it appeared my pregame thoughts were right and Portage was gonna win easily as they were able to score at will and Edgewood just seemed to be jacking threes whenever the shot was there. Portage jumped out to the early lead 13-8 behind the strong play of their senior point guard 6'0 Tyler Olson who was able to find some room in the Edgewood defense and knock down some midrange jump shots. In the second quarter it appeared Portage star 6'0 senior Kevin Hurd was getting things going and the Portage offense was running through him but, he was matched bucket for bucket by Edgewood sophomore 6'6 Austin Arians who really carried Edgewood early in this game and kept the Crusaders within striking distance. The difference in the first half was the strong play of Portage senior 6'7 Trevor Neale who came off the bench and blocked a couple shots and showed some nice post moves and throughout the game did a nice job of rebounding.

In the second half things really started going south for Portage. Edgewood started to press and Portage seemed to have a tough time getting the ball into Hurd or Olson's hands. Even when the two guards did get the ball the were just as apt to turn the ball over. Edgewood began hitting their shots and the comeback was on. Not sure what the score was at the end of three but, I know Portage was up by two. In the fourth quarter Portage continued to struggle against the pressure defense and Edgewood was hitting the threes. With about two minutes left Edgewood started the fouling and started really looking for the three point shot. Edgewood hit seven three pointers in the game with about five of them coming in the fourth quarter. Can't remember the exact events but, with Portage up by one Hurd went to the line and only converted on one of two free throws which left the door open for Edgewood. Edgewood missed their first shot Arians grabbed a long rebound and knocked down a jumper to tie the game with roughly 30 seconds left. Portage came down and looked for their main guy Hurd who was able to knock down the 15 footers with roughly 13 seconds left or so. Edgewood came back down the court and it appeared they were looking for Arians but, the ball ended up with 6'2 sophomore Spencer Brink who was able to hit the three point shot from the top of the key off the dribble to give Edgewood a one point lead with 1.7 seconds left. Hurds half court heave fell short giving Edgewood the 50-49 lead.

Top Players
Tyler Olson 6'0 senior Portage- Carried Portage throughout the first quarter but, kind of dissapeared late in the game.
Kevin Hurd 6'0 senior Portage- Just had a solid game overall knocking down mid range shots and free throws. About the only thing he did wrong was missed that free throw late. Really is a great floor leader on the court.
Trevor Neale 6'7 senior Portage- Gave a nice boost off the bench blocking shots, rebounding, and using a nice little post game to score.
Austin Arians 6'6 sophomore Edgewood- Really kept Edgewood in the game until the rest of his teammates starting hitting shots in the fourth quarter.
Spencer Brink 6'2 sophomore Edgewood- Had nice game overall running the point but, came up with the huge game winning three.

Box Score
Portage- Hurd 22 Olson 9 Neale 8 John Regalia 4 Kasi Schroeder 3 Ian Taylor 2 Josh Inglett 2 Ben Boeck 0
Edgewood- Arians 21 Brink 12 Connor Balczewski 8 Brock Pavlik 3 Christiaan Wabers 2 Tyler Krohn 2 Bruin Armwald 2 Scott Hird 0 Noah Kachelski 0

Madison Edgewood now moves on to play Lake Miller where some people actually have Edgewood as the favorite to win this game. Saturday I will be attending the Sauk Prairie vs Prairie du Chien during the day and then taking in Sun Prairie vs Waunakee at night. Thought about heading over to the Westosha Central vs Verona game but, just didn't spark enough interest for me to take in three games in one day. Should be another great day of high school basketball.