Madison Memorial out last Sun Prairie

Much like the past few years Madison Memorial was able to win this game because they just have more athletes then their opponents. Throughout much of the game it was Memorial playing with five athletes against Sun Prairies two. For the first half of the game Sun Prairie's two athletes were able to keep up with the five of Memorial but, in the end Memorial was just too quick and too athletic for Sun Prairie. Also similar to last year is the fact that Memorials best offense might be the missed shot as they were able to get second and third opportunities at the basket every time down the court. Memorial may of shot about 30 percent on the game but, it seemed that they scored every time down the court.

In the first quarter Sun Prairie came out in a 2-3 one zone defense which really seemed to play in Memorials hands. Early on Memorial really moved the ball well and they were able to find the openings in the Cardinal defense. Memorials point guard 6'1 junior Brendan Ortiz has really improved his passing from a year ago and had some very nice no look passes that set his teammates up for some easy baskets. A pair of seniors 6'5 Junior Lomomba and 6'6 Jamar Morris really did a nice job of getting the ball in the high post and finding cutting teammates in particular 6'4 senior Ngijol Songolo who has always seemed to move well without the ball. Another guy that really impressed me on the night was 6'5 junior Jester Weah who may be able to out jump Morris now, as it seemed that Weah was able to get his hand on every rebound as well as a couple nice blocks that he pinned against the glass.

On the other side Sun Prairie's star 6'6 junior Nick Fuller put his team on his back and completely carried them as he scored 20 points in the first half and the team only scored 30. Memorial did not have a single player that could stay with Fuller as he could get anywhere he wanted and could score at will.

In the second half Fuller slowed up and couldn't get his shot to fall while Memorial continued to control the glass. Memorial has their normal second half run as they came out and had an 8-0 run right out of the locker room in the second half. Memorial has a ton of athletes but, when they really need the buckets they go to Lomomba who has improved his ball handling, shooting, and his elevation since last year. Memorial was able to cruise to the victory and was able to finish it off with an exclamation point dunk from Lomomba when he drove to the hoop and threw down a monster one handed jam.

Top Players
Junior Lomomba 6'5 senior Memorial- A guy that can flat out score. I've always questioned his athletic ability in the past and in this game he showed me that is something that he has worked on as he appears quicker and can elevate higher then past years. I believe he will have a huge year.
Brendan Ortiz 6'1 junior Memorial- Made a huge name for himself last year with his Championship game heroics but, appears to really be looking to be a true point guard this year. Looked to set his teammates up before looking for his own shot. I have always loved his game and now that he appears to be more of a pass first point guard I love him even more.
Jester Weah 6'5 junior Memorial- Dominated the glass on both ends of the court. I think I may of seen the best leaper I will see all year.
Nick Fuller 6'6 junior Sun Prairie- No doubt he is a high D1 college player. Handles the ball exceptionally well and can get anywhere he wants on the court with the ball. A great shooter that has really expanded his game in the past two years.
Nick Noskowiak 6'1 freshmen Sun Prairie- I am very interested to watch this kid play as he plays like a senior already and plays with a ton of confidence. He is already the second best player on the team and is a dead eye shooter from the outside.

Box Score
Memorial- Lomomba 20 Morris 14 Ortiz 10 Songolo 10 Weah 6 Tyler Lindquist 6 Donnel Thomspon 0
SP- Fuller 27 Noskowiak 11 Craig Evans 4 Ryan Yentz 4 Andre Wallace 3 Nick Behrens 3 Mike Vernio 2 Andrew Struebel 2 Martin Cromwell 0

Once again I think that we will be seeing Memorial at the Kohl Center when it comes to state. Sun Prairie has a star that can carry them in Fuller and they have a handful of solid players but, I just don't think they can put it together to win the conference let alone make a run at state.