• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Beloit rolls past Craig

BELOIT — Once is amusing. Twice is irritating.

That’s the sentiment Janesville Craig boys basketball coach Bob Suter had after his team sleep-walked through another first half against traditional rival Beloit Memorial.

This time around, the Purple Knights didn’t let up in the second half.

Beloit outscored the Cougars 42-17 in the second and third quarters and cruised to a decisive 67-44 victory here Friday night.

The impressive victory kept Beloit (9-2, 7-2) one game behind first-place Madison Memorial in the Big Eight Conference.

Meanwhile, Craig (5-6, 4-5), which cut a 19-point deficit to two before falling 58-54 against Beloit in December, didn’t have an encore performance in the rematch.

“It’s a little different when you’re in your house or their house,” Suter said. “Down here, Beloit has always been a great basketball team with the band—its loud—and they get excited. And if you let them get going like that, they blow it right open.”

All of those things piled up on the Cougars in the first half.

After Kyle Goike’s three-pointer cut the Beloit lead to 20-18 midway through the second quarter, the Purple Knights finished the half with a 13-1 run and a 33-19 lead.

Beloit then added insult to injury with a 13-2 run to blow the game open at 45-21 with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

Beloit, which led by as many as 27 points in the second half, made sure the Cougars didn’t make a late fourth quarter run.

“At halftime, I said we have got to finish this one,” Beloit coach Jay Bryant said “Last time down there, we let them (the Cougars) back in the ball game by not taking care of the ball. But this time, I thought we did a much better job.”

Craig didn’t take of the ball in the first half against Beloit. The Purple Knights took advantage of early Cougar turnovers to open a 7-2 lead. Goike later drained a three-pointer to draw Craig even at 11-11.

But it was all Beloit from there.

Terrell Parks paced the Purple Knights with 14 points, while K.J. Evans and Sharod Stone added 12 apiece for Beloit.

Goike added 14 for Craig.

BELOIT 67, CRAIG 44

Craig—Kennedy 2-0-4, Fredricks 2-2-6, Kyle Goike 5-0-14, Pregont 1-1-3, Wright 3-0-6, Bates 2-0-6, Condon 1-0-3, Clanfield 1-0-2. Totals 17-3-44.

Beloit Memorial—Sims 1-0-2, Sharod Stone 4-2-12, Lindsey 1-0-3, Young 1-0-2, Smith 3-0-8, Fields 1-0-3, K.J. Evans 4-3-12, Tyler 1-0-2, Terrell Parks 7-0-14, Hyler 0-1-1, Davis 4-0-8. Totals 27-6-67.

Craig 11 8 9 16—44

Beloit 13 20 22 12—67

Three-point goals—Craig 7 (Goike 4, Bates 2, Condon 1); Beloit 7 (Stone 2, Lindsey, Smith 2, Fields, Evans); Free throws missed—Craig 6, Beloit 4; Total fouls—Craig 13, Beloit 14.

Junior varsity score—Beloit 65, Craig 48.