Portage over Madison Edgewood

As I suspected I didn't do any more tournament predictions so glad I did the two I did as they are the two big ones to watch for. Tournaments have started now and on a night when there really isn't much for games I decided to take in the local game in the town where I work and watch Portage played Madison Edgewood. I knew with Edgewood you would always get a team that played with a ton of heart, hustle, and very disciplined. The heart and hustle were there but, not always the discipline. Unlike the Edgewood teams of the past they really didn't work the ball as much and took the first shot that was there.

Portage really came out firing early on and seemed to be riding the energy of playing at home in a playoff game. Ian Taylor came out firing hitting three first half three point shots and was the steadying influence throughout the game. Watching the game it felt like Portage was just running away with the game but, when you looked at the scoreboard Edgewood was always within striking distance. Portage did finally get some room late in the first half as Edgewood turned the ball over a few times which allowed Portage to build a nine point half time lead. In the second half Edgewood got their outside shooting going as they were led by Nicholas Wiese who came off the bench in the first half but, started the second half and he was huge for Edgewood. Everytime Wiese was able to get his feet set he was able to knock down the outside shot. In the fourth quarter Portage started turning the ball over and with the hot shooting of Edgewood and Wiese it was a three point game with 56 seconds left in the game. Edgewood showed some lack of discipline as they came down and took the very first shot they saw which was a miss. Portage hit their free throws late to seal the game and sneak away with a win.

Top Players
Ian Taylor 6'1 senior Portage- Really was a steadying influence on the game running the point and was really hitting the threes from the outside.
Daniel Beck 6'3 senior Portage- Was very strong with the ball in the post and showed a great leaping ability in rebounding and blocking shots.
Nicholas Wiese 6'2 senior Edgewood- If he was given the open shot from the outside the shot was going to fall.
Jeffrey Zellner 5'10 junior Edgewood- Really liked this kid as a point guard. Handles the ball well, really looks to distribute to team mates, can hit the outside shot, or take the ball strong to the rim.

Box Score
Portage 63- Taylor 22 Beck 14 Jordan Walker 12 Stian Anderson 10 Matt Bate 5 Mitchell Gray 2 Brock Holmes 0 Taylor Krocker 0 Sam Harkins 0
Edgewood 55- Wiese 16 Zellner 11 Connor McGinnis 11 Paul Mutch 8 Samuel Wolfe 4 Alexander Wendler 3 SamuelSchemmel 2 Daniel Miller 0

Round one is done and we have only four rounds to go until we reach state. I know this write up wasn't the greatest but, this wasn't a huge game and I just couldn't get myself into it.