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Craig comeback falls short at East

MADISON —

The smallest kid in the gym was too much for Janesville Craig’s boys basketball team to handle Friday night.

Madison East standouts Marquis Mason, at 6-foot, 4-inches, James Bartelt, at 6-7, did the damage in the first half. But in the end, 5-11 sophomore Nimrod Hilliard buried the Cougars.

The slim point guard had all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter to derail Craig High’s comeback bid and hand the Purgolders a 61-53 victory in a battle of Big Eight Conference first-division teams.

“Hilliard made some plays,” said Craig coach Bob Suter, whose team fell to 4-3 in the conference and 5-4 overall. “They spread us out, and we just could not come all the way back.”

Mason, one of the state’s top-rated players, led East (8-2, 6-2) with 21 points.

But it was Hilliard who denied the Cougars after they rallied from a 32-17 halftime to pull within 44-41 with 6:07 left in the game.

JoJo Pregont spearheaded the rally with eight straight points before Joe Kennedy completed a three-point play to cap the 24-12 run, which brought Craig within three of the Purgolders.

After the teams traded baskets, Hilliard scored four straight points to push the East lead to 50-43 with 3:09 remaining.

Kennedy answered with a reverse layup, but Yamil Bacallao countered with two more East free throws. Hilliard added a driving lay-up, and Mason finished off the Cougars with a three-point play to give the Purgolders a 57-48 lead with 35 seconds left.

“Nimrod did some good things for us, especially getting to the free throw line, where he was 6-for-6,” East coach Rich Cleveland said. “We got sloppy in the second half, but we finished it off alright. It kind of got uncomfortable for awhile.”

Craig also was sloppy, especially in the first half, when the Cougars committed 10 turnovers and were out-rebounded 36-20. Meanwhile, East also was near-perfect from the line, making 15 of 16 free throws for the game, including all eight in the fourth quarter.

A.J Fredricks led Craig with 16 points, while Pregont finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. But it wasn’t quite enough for the Cougars.

“We’re just not in sync,” Suter said. “We always seem to letdown, with turnovers, bad passes and a lot of little things that really kill you.”

EAST 61, CRAIG 53

Craig (53)—Cagney, 2-0-5; Kennedy, 3-1-7; Fredricks, 6-3-16; Goike, 2-0-6; Pregont, 6-1-13; Clanfield, 1-02; Johnson, 0-2-2; Wright, 1-0-2. Totals: 21-7-53.

East (61)—Hilliard, 3-6-12; Park, 0-2-2; Bacallao, 6-2-14; Bartelt, 3-2-8; Mason, 9-3-21; Hull, 2-0-4. Totals: 23-15-61.

Janesville Craig 9 8 16 20—53

Madison East 18 14 10 19—61

Three-point goals—Craig 4 (Goike 2, Fredricks, Cagney) Free throws missed—Craig 1, East 1. Total fouls—Craig 16, East 7. Fouled out—Goike.

Sophomores—Craig 45, East 39. Craig leading scorers: Myles Johson, Andy Kyle, Cody Dare, 8 points apiece.