Sun Prairie over Madison East

Took in an extremely intense basketball game at Madison East last night. I swear it's just the overall atmosphere of playing at East but, the games there are always intense. I will stand by the fact that I believe that East has the best atmosphere for watching a game in the entire state. The small gym and the students behind the hoops just can't be beat. East is also I team that thrives on the energy and I think they love to play in these games. This game was full of a ton of jawing going back and forth, had a technical, in my opinion could of been three or four called, and I believe even a student being escorted out by school security.

Early on East came out and really threw the first punch taking the lead throughout much of the first half. East senior 6'6 Keshawn Justice has now climbed to the top of my player rankings after not even making an appearance in my initial rankings. Justice hit some monster threes in the first half, some of which were extremely tough shots falling away, and did a little jawing with the Sun Prairie bench. Early on East did a fairly solid job on the defensive side in particular on Sun Prairie's senior 6'4 Marlon Ruffin. East did a lot of switching on the defensive end but, in particular it was 6'3 sophomore Keonte Jones guarding Ruffin. Jones did a good job of just pestering Ruffin from the time he stepped in from the end line and was just a constant nuisance. Fellow senior 6'2 Taylor Jansen did a nice job of getting to the rim and scoring early on. 6'8 sophomore phenom Jalen Johnson played tonight for I think the first time of the season and from the moment he stepped on the court things change. Johnson took the focus off Ruffin which allowed Ruffin to just work man to man where he was able to get to the rim. Johnson looked a little rough early on and Justice did a nice job of guarding Johnson and getting in his head a bit. East took the half time lead of one.

In the second half though Johnson got himself with a couple nice dunks in the transition but, it seemed like Justice was always there to match him with a big three for East. Ruffin was able to knock a pair of threes down for Sun Prairie and 6'3 senior Marty Strey is a just a warrior on the inside and was able to score a little bit in the paint. Justice got some second half help from 6'0 senior Earl Lewis who hit some huge threes and had a couple nice drives to the rim. His size hurt him a bit as he found himself throwing up some wild shots and getting blocked. Sun Prairie may of sealed the deal by double teaming Justice and late in the game he was just too tired to do anything against the double team.

Top Players
Keshawn Justice 6'6 senior Madison East- Really impressive this game. He played the entire game and he finally was hitting the threes which was nice to see. Also really impressed with his defense in particularirly guarding Johnson. Could get his shot at any time and could hit any shot.

Earl Lewis 6'0 senior Madison East- Helped out Justice a lot in the scoring column. Hitting the spot up threes and was able to drive the lane and hit some tough floaters.

Jalen Johnson 6'8 sophomore Sun Prairie- Didn't start the game but, from the moment he stepped on the court he was the best player on the court and he isn't even at full strength. Has really filled out and is just a smart player to go along with his skill. Shooting was a little off but, he plays like a big time guard with his passing ability and driving to the lane. Really showed off his skill with a transition dunk in traffic.

Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie- Hit a pair of big threes, one of which was a very nice step back three. He's usually the best athlete on the court. Did a nice job of battling on the glass and scoring second chance buckets. Used his strength and leaping ability to get to the rim and score.

Box Score
Sun Prairie 64- Ruffin 20 Johnson 17 Jansen 12 Strey 9 Caden White 4 Colin Schaefer 2 Rajai Williams 0 Alex Schaefer 0 Cooper Nelson 0
Madison East 56- Justice 26 Lewis 15 Jones 8 Datril Thompson 3 Davion Washington 2 Anthony Washington 2 Damontae Thompson 0 Marcus Justice 0

All I have to say is when Johnson is at full strength this Sun Prairie team will be extremely extremely scary. Ruffin is really good but, I think Johnson is really really good. Sun Prairie did struggle a bit against East quickness at times but, they should be just fine with those two guys I previously mentioned. East needs to get Justice some consistent help and they'll have some up and downs because they are very quick but, lack size. When East hits their shots and get out and run they can beat anyone.