Sun Prairie over Beloit

In my mind this game was billed to be a huge game. Sun Prairie was back at full strength and Beloit was currently tied for first place in the conference and was a long shot to win the conference outright if Madison Memorial got upset in one of their last two games. I should of known though because Beloit just recently dropped a game to Verona that they never should of lost. The last time I saw Beloit their leading scorer 6'1 senior Leketreius Broomfield wasn't playing so I was excited to see him play this time around but, was a bit disappointed when the starting lineups were announced and Broomfield wasn't starting. I'm not sure the reasons behind it but, Broomfield seems to have a hard time staying eligible and has missed a decent amount of games and hopefully this won't affect the team in the playoffs. Another player that wasn't starting was Sun Prairie's 6'0 senior Jaron Schaffner. Schaffner is another guy that has some great talent but, has had a hard time keeping himself eligible and has missed a lot of games and I don't believe that he has started the second half of the year. Schaffner is a double digit scorer that Sun Prairie will need to make a deep run in the playoffs and have a chance of beating Memorial and the Milwaukee teams.

Once the game started Sun Prairie really showed their dominance on the inside as the were able to work their offense from the inside out looking to 6'5 senior Chris Hawkins right away or kicking out to his open teammate 6'2 senior Jordan Noskowiak who was hot from the outside from the tip. Beloit looked much the way I recall every time I see them. They have a ton of athletes but, just lack discipline and an offense and prefer to just "Run n Gun" and don't run much of a set offense and are at their best in the fast past game. Broomfield did get in the game fairly early and he looked good but, he really didn't get the results in the stats. Broomfield seemed to be able to get where ever he wanted but, settled to often and took a lot of tough shots. The same could probably be said about the entire Beloit team. It felt like an NBA game with guys just going one on one without the post game. Beloit isn't a small team but, they just don't have many guys that like playing in the post. At the end of two quarters it was Sun Prairie 24 Beloit 13.

In the second quarter Beloit started to play some good defense and force turnovers which allowed them to get out and run and score 21 points in the second quarter and cut the lead to 42-34. Unfortunately the faster pass and pressure defense gave Sun Prairie some easy baskets. I've said before I believe 6'5 sophomore Nick Fuller might be the best player on Sun Prairie but, he struggled in this game particularly from the outside which he also did the last time I saw him against Madison East. Fuller's struggles from the outside were just plan bad shooting but, on the rest of the court the problem was the defender 6'3 junior Jon Winston. Winston used his physical strength to push Fuller away from the hoop and keep Fuller from getting around him. In the end though it was Winston's physical game that had him foul out guarding Fuller away from the ball early in the fourth quarter.

In the second half finally started looking to the post as they went to 6'3 senior Mike Weston who used his quickness and finesse game to score around the bigger defenders. Weston was the one guy that played a strong game throughout. Nick Fuller did have big highlight play in this quarter as he posterized Broomfield, when Broomfield went to block Fuller and Fuller threw down the dunk in his face. Sun Prairie did increase their lead though as Beloit decided to jack up a lot of threes which they did hit a lot but, missed a lot as well. The two guys taking the threes were a pair of seniors 5'11 Dennis Crosby and 6'7 Cameron Roegner. Fourth quarter continued much the same as Beloit jacked threes and Sun Prairie got the easy buckets and got the big 76-59 win and both benches were cleared.

Top Players
Chris Hawkins 6'5 senior Sun Prairie- Has been a beast in the paint the last two games as he appears to be peaking at the right time. Can flat out jump out of the gym, when he jumps it's him and the rim and there is no one else out there. Had a nice put back dunk.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'2 senior Sun Prairie- Another guy who appears to be playing his best basketball at the right time. He's knocking down the three anytime he gets the chance to set his feet and as always is playing great defense.
Mike Weston 6'3 senior Beloit- Has an engine that never stops and gets all the hustle baskets and always runs the court. Showed a nice post game in this game as well.
Cameron Roegner 6'7 senior Beloit- Is money from the outside when he's left open. Moves very well without the ball.
Dennis Crosby 5'11 senior Beloit- Doesn't have the prettiest shot but, can really score the ball. Comes off screens very hard and is looking to shoot and can get his shot off at any time over taller defenders.

Box Score
Sun Prairie- Noskowiak 23 Hawkins 23 Fuller 18 Daniel Mifflin 8 Ryan Yentz 4 Paris Saffold 3 Bryce Opps 2 Schaffner 0 Rapheal Ragland 0 Andre Wallace 0
Beloit- Weston 21 Roegner 11 Crosby 9 Winston 8 Broomfield 8 Trevea Ross 2 Matt Zibert 0 Dalton Davies 0 Tevin Gamble 0

This game didn't have much to do with the seedings since the teams were in different regionals and both teams ended up with two seeds. You have to wonder though if Beloit had one this game they would of remained co-champs in the always tough Big Eight and if Beloit wouldn't of gotten the one seed. One of two seed isn't a huge deal because those two teams won't meet up until sectionals where they would be on a neutral court. Sun Prairie could lose first game of playoffs or get to state their a team that has been up and down all year and they play Watertown who isn't a push over by any means. For Beloit they will probably win their first game but, have three other very good teams that are in their sectional that could cause them problems and then they have the super sectional to worry about. It will be tough but, wouldn't be completely shocked to see Beloit at state even though they are a long shot.