Madison Memorial over Madison East

Tonight took in a battle of two of the teams that were expected to contend for the Big Eight Conference title. While Madison Memorial has played to expectations Madison East has really struggled. This game showed that Memorial is the class of the Big Eight but, East is a team to be reckoned with and I would be very nervous playing East in the playoffs. I also have to say that Madison East might be one of the best venues to watch a game. The overall gym is small, gets extremely loud, and feels like your right on the court. Also they blare the base over the loud speakers and the student sections are behind the hoops.

I know 6'8 senior Chris Knight is by far the leading scorer on this team but, every time I see Memorial play they come across as an extremely balanced team and all five of their starters have the ability to score double digits at any time. Speaking of Knight he has really filled out nicely and looks every bit of a D1 college player now and he could very well be the top rebounder in the state. Knight is long and can really jump which really helps him rebound as well as block shots. Memorial is a team that wants to win ugly in that the games are going to be very low scoring and will be a struggle throughout. Memorial plays some very good defense switching between multiple zone defenses and they are pretty disciplined on offense and don't shoot a ton of threes, particularly when they get up in a game.

Early on it was Memorial's offensive rebounding that gave them the lead and year in and year out Memorial always seems to be one of the top rebounding teams in the state. No one really got going for Memorial it was a team effort on the glass but, 6'0 senior Billy Wilson did hit a pair of threes early on to pace Memorial. Wilson also had a nice drive and dish to Knight who finished with a powerful one handed dunk. I have to say that Wilson and back court mate 5'11 senior Logan Knecht have really improved from a year ago. East was paced all night by their 6'6 guards junior Keshawn Justice and senior Steven Wooten. Due to the Memorial zones East was given open threes after threes and Justice and Wooten carried the team all night long.

In the second half it seemed that Memorial was going to salt this one away. Memorial struggled from the free throw line and gave East a chance to get back in the game. Justice hit a late three to get a chance to tie the game but, no one from East could hit a late three to tie the game up and Memorial escaped with a victory.

Top Players
Chris Knight 6'8 senior Madison Memorial- Just a rebounding force tonight. Didn't force things too much offensively but, had a couple nice mid range shots and did a nice job of finding open team mates.

Jake Ferguson 6'6 senior Madison Memorial- I maintain that Ferguson is a key to Memorial's success. He doesn't score a ton but, he does all the little things that you don't see in the box score. Whether its defending, handling the ball, or just leading the team Ferguson does it. When they need a basket Ferguson makes it. Had a couple real nice jumpers off the curl and had a couple tough and one baskets as well.

Keshawn Justice 6'6 junior Madison East- Like to see him play inside a bit but, that isn't his game. Was the one true consistent scorer for East and as always he was hitting the threes from the outside. Justice also did a real nice job of getting to the free throw line driving the lane and drawing contact.

Steve Wooten 6'6 senior Madison East- Did a nice job of battling Knight in the game and hit some big outside shots. Wooten may be the key for East because you know what you'll get from Justice but, need Wooten as that number two guy.

I've already stated my thoughts as far as what we can expect going forward. One finally thought though is that I could see either of these teams losing early in the playoffs or making a state run.