Middleton cruises past Parker
It was quick.
It was explosive.
And it was painful — for Janesville Parker.
Middleton’s boys basketball team smacked host Parker with a 26-3 run over an 8 ½-minute stretch late in the first half last Saturday. That burst gave the Cardinals a 40-13 lead at the break and they went on to a relatively easy 68-46 win.
Middleton improved to 4-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight Conference.
“We have the ability to score in a variety of ways,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “Transition, getting to the rim in the half court, post play, and the 3-point shot.
“The key to any successful team is stringing together defensive stops. This was probably our best stretch of that combination so far in this early season. One of my assistants said 'Defense always travels', and that's so true. It was the key for us in a place that's always tough to play in.”
Senior guard Gavyn Hurley led the Cardinals with 18 points — 16 of which came in the paint. Hurley added five rebounds and three assists.
Sophomore center Will Garlock had 14 points and eight rebounds, while senior forward Owen Cooney added 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Will Comerford had eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while junior wing Avery Houden had six points.
Senior forward Kaden Fosdick also had eight rebounds and three assists, while freshman guard Isaiah Oliver had four rebounds.
Middleton had gone 11 days between games, as contests against Madison West and Madison La Follette were postponed. But the Cardinals didn’t show any rust in hammering the Vikings (3-2, 3-3).
“We had prepped to play Madison West, then Madison LaFollette, only to have both games postponed,” Bavery said. “I was curious how we'd handle getting prepared for both games then having to deal with the natural letdown of not playing and then having to do a quick turnaround scouting shift.”
Parker has two of the better players in the conference in senior guard Tre Miller and junior forward JJ Douglas. Miller entered as the leading scorer in the conference at 24.3 points per game, while Douglas was the league’s top rebounder at 18.0 — highlighted by a 32-rebound night earlier this year against Sun Prairie East.
Middleton did a terrific job on both players, though.
Miller was held to 16 points on 6-of-22 shooting. Hurley, Oliver and senior guard Joe Schwartz took turns frustrating Miller.
And Douglas — a football standout, as well — was held to seven rebounds. Cooney opened on Douglas, while the 6-foot-10 Garlock and 6-8 junior forward Carter Kadow all took turns.
“We knew Miller was going to make some shots, but we wanted to make them tough looks,” Bavery said. “Our goal was to give him no clean catch-and-shoot looks, contest his shots without fouling, and take him an extra step outside of where he wanted to be. (We) did an amazing job on him.
“He's as talented of an offensive player as there is in the league, and having a different style of defender lock in on him all game had an effect. And they didn't get any help in terms of double teams or switches. They stayed in front, contested shots, and their teammates made sure that Parker didn't get many second shots.
“As for Douglas, a mix of long and physical defenders were able to keep him in check. His offense is primarily created by his ability to get to the offensive glass. He's extremely powerful and explosive, so we needed to get into him early and be physical.”
Middleton led, 14-10, midway through the first half when it embarked on a 26-3 burst that largely ended things.
The Cardinals opened with a 21-1 run over a stretch of 6:15 that pushed the lead to 35-11. Then after a Parker basket, Middleton finished the half with five straight points.
In all, Middleton shot 11-of-16 during its brilliant run and averaged 1.73 points per possession.
Parker, on the other hand, shot just 1-of-10 during the run and had four turnovers.
Avery Houden started the fun by attacking the left baseline for a dunk. Cooney followed with a baby-hook, Comerford drilled a 3-pointer and Hurley drove for a lay-up that gave Middleton a 23-10 lead.
After a Parker free throw, the Cardinals went on a 12-0 blitz.
Garlock started the run with a nifty, 7-foot bank shot. Hurley went coast-to-coast for a lay-up and Cooney had a lay-up on a nifty feed from Comerford. Oliver and Comerford followed with three-pointers, and just like that, the lead had ballooned to 35-11.
Parker stopped the bleeding momentarily with its only field goal of the final 10 minutes. But Cooney had a spinning, left handed lay-up, Jpoe Schwartz made a free throw and Hurley had another lay-up with 50 seconds left in the half to make it 40-13.
Game, set, match.
The second half was largely uneventful, as Middleton made its trip to Janesville an enjoyable one.
The Cardinals finished the night with just 10 turnovers and outrebounded the Vikings, 47-15. Middleton had 40 of its 68 points in the paint, shot 46.3% from the floor and held Parker to 37.3% shooting.
“As always our focus now is simply to have a great practice on Monday and challenge our players to find both individual and team wins during that time,” Bavery said afterwards. “We have a lot to clean up in execution and every team is going to get better so we cannot stand still.”
• On deck: Middleton hosted Madison West Tuesday, then hosts Madison La Follette Thursday at 7:15 p.m. The Cardinals are then off until Dec. 28, when they host Oconomowoc at 6 p.m.
Dec. 6
MIDDLETON 68, JANESVILLE PARKER 46
Middleton ......... 40 28 — 68
Parker ………. 13 33 — 46
MIDDLETON — (fgm-ftm-pts) — Gavyn Hurley 9-0-18, Joe Schwartz 0-1-1, Isaiah Oliver 1-0-3, Kaden Fosdick 0-2-2, Carter Kadow 1-1-3, Owen Cooney 5-2-13, Will Garlock 6-2-14, Avery Houden 2-2-6, Dante Passelo 0-1-1, Will Comerford 1-2-5, Torin Pettaway 0-2-2. Totals: 25-15-68.
JANESVILLE PARKER — Kadin Babbitt 2-0-5, Paul Kim 2-0-4, Tre Miller 6-3-16, Gavyn Novak 2-0-4, JJ Douglas 5-2-12, Keegan Skzrypchak 1-0-2, Jeff Rowin 1-0-3. Totals: 19-5-46.
3-pointers: Middleton 3 (Comerford, Oliver, Cooney), Parker 3 (Babbitt, Miller, Rowin).
