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Madison Memorial shines against Cougars

MADISON — All the stars were out Friday night at Madison Memorial.

Unfortunately for Janesville Craig, the Cougars didn’t shine against the Spartans.

With Barry Alvarez, Jeronne Maymon and Keaton Nankivil on hand, it was the Spartans who put on a show, rolling to a 65-33 victory in Big Eight boys basketball.

After Bret Bates’ rebound basket for Craig tied the score at 9-9, Memorial went on a 21-7 run as the defending WIAA Division 1 state champions improved to 3-1 in the conference and overall.

“I was probably the happiest I have been all year, just by the whole performance of the game,” Memorial coach Steve Collins said. “We are a relatively young team, so I’m really trying a lot of different kids and a lot of different combinations to try and figure out who we are and move forward.”

Tre’ Burnette led the Spartans, who are seeking a seventh straight conference title and state tournament berth, with 13 points. Tre Creamer added 12, while Marquette recruit Vander Blue and Jamar Morris each had 10 points.

Bates came off the bench to lead Craig (0-5, 0-4) with 13 points, which included two three-pointers and eight points in the first quarter.

“The biggest factor in the game was offensive rebounds,” first-year Craig coach Mike Miller said. “We obviously addressed it halftime, but I didn’t think we did a much better job in the second half.

“I saw us jumping with them, and they were playing volleyball on the boards. We’re not going to win that battle.”

Along with giving the Spartans second and third scoring opportunities, Craig also committed 20 turnovers as Memorial turned to its full-court press in the second quarter.

Bates pulled Craig within

13-12 after one of his three three-pointers, but Burnette answered with a runner to close out the opening quarter and ignite a 17-4 run. Burnette had six points in the blitz, which put the game quickly out of reach, 30-16, at halftime.

The second half was highlighted by back-to-back alley-oop dunks by Blue to push the Memorial lead to 38-16.

“They are a very good team,” Miller said. “They turned up the heat with their pressure. I thought the game started to turn when they went to their full-court diamond defense. We had a heck of a time trying to handle that, and we got sloppy with the ball.”

The only struggles Memorial had were off the court, as Collins and Blue dealt with the residual effects of Maymon’s decision to leave the Marquette University basketball program this week. The former Spartan is now considering his transfer options.

Memorial also played without starters Junior Lomomba and Brendan Ortiz, who are injured.

MEMORIAL 65, CRAIG 33

Craig (33)—Lowe, 1-0-2; Bordwell, 0-1-1; Johnson, 1-0-3; Brault, 1-0-3; Bates, 4-2-13; Condon, 3-0-6; Dare, 3-0-6; Totals: 12-3-33.

Memorial (65)—Horman, 1-2-4; Fredrick, 0-2-2; Chamberlain, 3-1-7; Burnette, 6-0-13; Creamer, 5-1-12; Blue, 4-2-10; Morris, 5-0-10; Fruhling, 1-0-2; Scharch, 0-1-1; Klunder, 2-0-4. Totals: 27-9-65.

Janesville Craig 12 4 9 8—33

Madison Memorial 15 16 19 16—65

Three-point goals—Craig 4 (Bates 3, Johnson), Memorial 2 (Burnette, Creamer). Free throws missed—Craig 10, Memorial 7. Total fouls—Craig 15, Memorial 14.

Sophomores—Memorial 69, Craig 53.