MHS at a crossroads after loss to MG

John C. Maxwell, an American best-selling author, once said: “Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise.”

That’s the exact position Middleton’s boys basketball team finds itself in today.

The Cardinals, who had played mostly terrific basketball for two months, had their poorest game of the season last Saturday and fell to visiting Monona Grove, 65-63. Silver Eagles senior forward A.J. Nelson attacked Middleton 7-foot center Will Garlock and hit a 5-foot bank shot as time expired to lift MG to a stunning win.

Afterwards, Middleton coach Kevin Bavery questioned the effort and attitude of his team, and agreed the Cardinals were undoubtedly at a crossroads.

“We had people who played really hard. But collectively, we didn't have enough of those guys and they had more than we did,” Bavery said. “Afterwards, we said it’s up to them now to decide what direction they want to go from here, because that was not us today.”

Middleton rallied from a seven point second half deficit and tied the game at 63 when junior guard John Grimes drilled a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left.

The Silver Eagles tried holding for the last shot, but MHS senior guard Riley Kann poked the ball away from MG guard Trent Rodefeld with 10 seconds left. The ball caromed to Middleton junior guard Jackson Guerrero, who raced the other way and missed a left-handed lay-up with 6 seconds left.

MG’s Cal Woerth grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles down the right sideline, then fired a 45-foot pass to Nelson. The Silver Eagles forward caught the ball 20-feet away from the hoop on the left wing, took one dribble and made contact with Garlock just outside the painted area.

Nelson hung in the air, then took an off-balance 5-footer that hit the glass and dropped through as the buzzer sounded.

Middleton, which had won 13 of its previous 15 games and was trending towards a potential top-4 postseason seed, was stunned after falling to 13-8. MG, meanwhile, mobbed Nelson and celebrated after improving to 12-8.

“We had a chance to escape and win a game, despite how poorly we played,” Bavery said. “But we didn’t get a call and maybe that’s a fitting way to end it instead of us escaping with one that we didn't deserve.”

The Silver Eagles, who are tied for fifth place in the Badger Large Conference, shredded Middleton’s zone all game. MG continually hit the high post, then found baseline cutters for baskets at the rim.

The Silver Eagles also had tremendous perimeter looks, knocking down 10 3-pointers, including four each from Rodefeld and Woerth.

Overall, MG shot 26-of-39 from the field (66.7%) and 10-of-18 from beyond the arc (55.6%). The Silver Eagles also shot a blistering 76.5% in the second half (13-of-17).

“They made a lot of plays early, and we were just uncharacteristic how we were guarding the high post,” Bavery said. “We weren’t dropping or we were dropping without understanding where people were.

“A lot of times we got snuck behind with our wings dropping. They slipped the short corner to the basket, and we’ve done a good job with that in the past. But it was uncharacteristic. We just weren’t good enough.”

Middleton did race to a 13-6 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Kann (13 points) and another triple from Guerrero (team-high 14 points). MG responded with a 16-4 blitz, though, took a 22-17 lead and quickly showed MHS that it might have its hands full.

Middleton used a 16-4 run of its own, though, late in the first half and surged to a 37-31 lead. Kann and Guerrero keyed that spurt with five points each, while Grimes had four of his 12 points in that stretch.

“Jackson had a great game, and Grimes came off the bench with one of his best games in a long time,” Bavery said.

MG never blinked, though.

The Cardinals held a 47-42 lead with 13 minutes left, when the Silver Eagles went on a game-altering 11-0 run and surged to a 53-47 advantage. During that 4-minute stretch, MG scored on five of six possessions, had four lay-ups or dunks, and forced five Middleton turnovers.

“The longer and longer it went, the more you had that feeling,” Bavery said.

Middleton went to a small lineup of Guerrero, Kann, Grimes, senior forward Marquise Walker and junior wing Brennan Mauer and got a jolt from that group.

The Cardinals whittled away at the lead thanks to tremendous ball pressure from Guerrero (five steals) and Grimes. Guerrero also drilled a pair of 3-pointers as Middleton clawed its way back.

Finally, the Cardinals pulled even at 63 when Grimes made a top of the key 3-pointer with 50 seconds left.

That set up the wild final sequence that left MG celebrating and Middleton facing a crossroads.

“We got some energy out of our smaller lineups to get us back in the game,” Bavery said. “But we could never get a big spurt and we let them control the tempo.

“In whatever way you want to define it, we weren’t ready. We certainly weren’t ready.”

• Middleton 86, Madison East 55 — Junior guard Andrew Qastin made his birthday a memorable one, drilling six 3-pointers and scoring a team-high 18 points as the Cardinals routed the Purgolders on Feb. 13.

Senior guard Riley Kann added 14 points, while senior forward Marquise Walker (12), senior center Will Garlock (12) and junior guard Jackson Guerrero (10) all reached double figures.

• On deck: Middleton faced a daunting week with road games at both Sun Prairie schools. The Cardinals were at Sun Prairie East (15-6, 12-3) Tuesday, then are at Sun Prairie West (12-8, 9-5) Friday at 7:15 p.m.

Postseason seeds are then revealed Sunday at 11 a.m., and Middleton’s two games this week will go a long way in determining its playoff path.

Feb. 15

MONONA GROVE 65, MIDDLETON 63

Monona Grove ………….. 34 31 — 65

Middleton …………………. 37 26 — 63

Monona Grove — Rodefeld 14, Connor 5, Woerth 12, Nelson 8, Luchetti 12, Thome 10, McKail 2, Hunt 2. Totals: 26 3-7 65.

Middleton — Walker 6, Guerrero 14, Kann 13, Mauer 5, Garlock 9, Grimes 12, Cooney 3, Parks 1. Totals 23 5-9 63.

3-point goals — MG 10 (Rodefeld 4, Woerth 4, Connor 1, Thome 1); Mid 12 (Guerrero 4, Kann 3, Grimes 2, Cooney 1, Walker 1, Mauer 1).

Feb. 13

MIDDLETON 86, MADISON EAST 55

Madison East ………..  16 39 — 55

Middleton ………..…… 45 41 — 86

Madison East — Nash 28, Roberts 5, Chester 11, Boyton 5, Ellis-Wilkinson 5, Rao 1. Totals: 20 9-13 55.

Middleton — Walker 12, Guerrero 10, Kann 14, Ostreng 2, Qastin 18, Grimes 4, Mauer 6, Schwartz 2, Krachey 2, Garlock 12, Parks 4. Totals 37 6-10 86.

3-point goals — M 6 (Qastin 6); ME 6 (Nash 3, Chester 1, Boyton 1, Ellis-Wilkinson 1). Fouls ME 7, M 13.