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Heading the wrong way

JANESVILLE — Bob Suter is not real happy with the direction his Janesville Craig High School boys basketball team is taking.

After a disappointing 42-32 loss to Madison La Follette in a Big Eight game here Thursday night, the Cougars (6-7, 5-6) have lost four out of their last five to fall below .500 in the conference and for the season.

The Lancers (5-8, 5-7), meanwhile, behind 13 points from Chris Redman, won their fifth game in the last six.

“The second time around, teams scout you and know who your scorers are,” Suter said. “They’re going to climb in your jock (defensively). And if you’re going to stand there and beg for the ball, it’s not going to happen.

“All the little things we talked about coming into the game, such as taking care of the basketball or making a two-handed pass, I didn’t see a lot of tonight.”

Craig led 6-2 on JoJo Pregont’s basket with 4:31 left in the first quarter, but then went nearly 11 minutes without a field goal. Kyle Goike’s free thow with 2:49 left in the second quarter snapped a 17-0 La Follette run as the Lancers built a 23-9 halftime lead.

The Cougars were 4-for-19 shooting in the first half, including 0-for- 8 from three-point range. For the game, Craig made just one three-pointer in 13 attempts.

La Follette controlled play on both ends of the court, thanks to the solid backcourt of Redman and D.J. Fuller. The 5-foot-10 Fuller ran the point and constantly ducked inside a collapsing Cougar defense for an easy look at the basket or a wide-open teammate flashing to the basket. Fuller finished with only eight points, but he had six assists and four steals.

“They’re awfully quick,” Suter said of the Lancers. “And when you stand there flat-footed like we did and don’t slide your feet, you make them look even quicker.

“And when you can’t do anything on the offensive end, as was the case in the first half, you have to make sure you’re working that much harder on the defensive end. We didn’t, and they were able to built a lead.”

La Follette pushed the margin to 24 early in the second half before Craig responded with an 11-0 run to end the third quarter. Craig got the margin down to 10 in the fourth but could get no closer.

Pregont was the only Cougar in double figures with 10. A.J. Fredrick, who came into the game as the seventh-leading scorer in the Big Eight, was held to two points.

Craig is at Madison Memorial on Saturday night.

“We’re going from the pan into the fire,” Suter said of the five-time defending champion Spartans. “”We don’t have long to feel sorry for ourselves.”

LA FOLLETTE 42, CRAIG 32

La Follette (42)—Redman, 5-3-13; Fuller, 3-1-8; Dybevik, 1-0-3; Henly, 2-0-5; Klinkner, 3-0-8; Dubois, 0-2-2; Padgett, 1-0-3. Totals: 15-6-42.

Craig (32)—Cagney, 3-0-7; Kennedy, 1-0-2; Fredricks, 0-2-2; Goike, 2-1-5; Pregont, 5-2-12; Wright, 2-0-4. Totals: 13-5-32.

Madison La Follette 11 12 14 5—42

Janesville Craig 6 3 15 8—32

Three-point goals—La Follette 6 (Klinkner 2, Fuller, Henly, Dybevik, Padgett), Craig 1 (Cagney). Free throws missed—La Follette 6, Craig 1. Total fouls—La Follette 8, Craig 12.

Sophomores—Craig 53, La Follette 37.