Badger Classic

Took in a couple Badger Classic games pitting Badger North and South teams against each other. Always a nice showcase because you get the entire conference in one place and you know your going to get at least two pretty good games with the #1s and #2s playing. Today didn't get a chance to get their until late and only caught the last two games which were the best games anyway. I did catch the end of Monona Grove and Deforest but, the game was never in question and MG basically cruised to the win.

Madison Edgewood 61 Sauk Prairie 50
I think Edgewood was clearly the better team skill wise but, Sauk Prairie really played hard and with a lot of intensity which kept them in this game. Sauk jumped out early behind 6'3 junior Dawson Evert who scored 12 of the teams first 14 points but, then went silent for the rest of the game. Thankfully for Edgewood they had 6'0 senior Conner Finnegan who made four first half threes early in the game to pull them back in to the game. Edgewood's stars 6'3 junior Mandela Deang and 6'4 senior Austin Arians was able to salt the game away. Sauk really did played hard but, when they had a chance late in the game they forced threes when they really didn't have to.

Top Players 
Conner Finnegan 6'0 senior Edgewood- Hit four threes early on and shot the ball well all game.

Mandela Deang 6'3 junior Edgewood- Hit some big shots late in the game and scored in a variety of ways in transition, in the paint, mid range, and of course the three ball.

Dawson Evert 6'3 junior Sauk- Had monster first five minutes of the game scoring in the paint and knocking down the three. Unfortunately after the first five minutes went quiet.

Josh Holler 6'0 senior Sauk- Kind of an undersized forward but, he was able to use his strength on the inside to score in the game around bigger defenders. Also a high energy guy.


Waunakee 74 Stoughton 63 OT
This game lived up to the hype with two top five teams playing each other. Stoughton jumped out early behind a very pro Stoughton crowd and then Waunakee crawled back into it to take a six point lead at half. Early in the second half it felt like Waunakee was going to run away and hide but, they just couldn't put the game away and Stoughton hit some big shots late in the game and Waunakee turned the ball over late to allow Stoughton to tie it up late. In overtime it was all Waunakee as they outscored Stoughton 13 to 2. These teams played a little bit of a different style as Stoughton was a complete team effort while Waunakee relied on their two junior stars 6'3 Mitch Listau and 6'2 Mason Steffen, who scored 25 and 24 points each. They real reason that Stoughton lost this game was the close range shots they missed and the poor shot selection throughout the game and I would say Waunakee was just slightly more disciplined but, Listau took his share of poor shots. Be props to 6'6 Waunakee junior Nate Carter, who didn't have a great game but, came up with a pair of monster blocks in overtime and Stoughton didn't get a shot to the rim until there was about two minutes left in overtime.

Top Players
Mitch Listau 6'3 junior Waunakee- Carried this team in the first half when nothing was going. Listau was able to knock some three down and get to the lane where he hit the short jumpers. Second half he was able to get right to the rim as well and score. Also took the task of guarding Stoughton star 6'0 senior Troy Slaby late in the game.

Mason Steffen 6'2 junior Waunkee- Slow first half but, in the second he was able to drive the lane with some nice ball handling skills and finishing with the finger rolls.

Max Fernholz 6'1 junior Stoughton- Not a huge night but, he hit the three to send the game into overtime.

Troy Slaby 6'0 senior Stoughton- Struggled a bit tonight but, did hit some huge very deep threes in this one. Has a pretty shot and surprised when it doesn't go in.

Overall opinion is that the Badger conference is down a bit but, Stoughton and Waunakee are one of the top teams in the state but, other then them I don't see anyone doing much playoff