Middleton surges past Janesville Craig
Kevin Bavery didn't want to do it.
Bavery, Middleton’s boys basketball coach, likes to let his team play through rough patches. He likes to let them figure things out in the moment.
With the Cardinals trailing visiting Janesville Craig, 13-2, after just 4 minutes, though, on Jan. 28, Bavery called a timeout.
“I still didn't want to,” Bavery said. “But I just kind of had to.”
It paid off.
Middleton immediately went on a 12-0 run to surge ahead, stretched that advantage to 12 by halftime and never looked back on its way to an 83-64 win over the Cougars.
The Cardinals stayed tied atop the Big Eight Conference with Verona and Madison Memorial with 10-1 league marks and improved to 12-2 overall. Craig fell to 7-9, 4-7.
“I don't like to take those (timeouts),” Bavery said. “It's a little out of stubbornness, and then it’s like, let's see what they have.
“But we needed one for a few reasons. Like, we should be better right from the start. We should have better leadership. They should get into certain actions and we weren't doing any of those things. But we got it going.”
They sure did, as several players had a hand in what became a convincing win.
Senior guard John Grimes knocked down 5-of-11 3-pointers and led the Cardinals with 20 points. Grimes added seven rebounds, four assists and had three steals.
Senior guard Jackson Guerrero had 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, eight deflections and two steals. Guerrero’s second steal gave him the new school record with 179 in his stellar career, breaking the old mark of 178 held by Tyree Eady.
Senior guard Andrew Qastin had 14 points, two assists and two steals, while sophomore post Carter Parks had 12 points, 10 rebounds (four offensive) and two steals. Freshman forward Parker Klein had a career-high 11 points and added four rebounds, senior forward Luke Sheehan had eight rebounds (four offensive) and five steals, and sophomore guard Cormac Carlson added three steals.
“We called that timeout and I think we just like woke up and knew we needed to lock in,” Grimes said. “We started pressuring and then actually running actions, getting good shots. We started to look like ourselves.”
Bavery knew his guard trio of Guerrero, Grimes and Qastin would rival most teams in the state this season. But the emergence of Parks, Sheehan and now Klein has suddenly made Middleton one of Wisconsin’s most dangerous outfits.
Parks, a burly 6-foot-4 forward, has a unique combination of strength, quickness and overall athleticism, making him a tough matchup on both ends.
“Last year, there wasn't quite as much opportunity for Carter,” Bavery said. “But I said to him, ‘you realize you don't have to wait until your junior and senior year to be the best big in the Big Eight.’ He has that kind of ability.”
Sheehan, a role player last season, has been a rock inside all year. He rebounds, defends and does all the little things that have helped the Cardinals thrive.
If you were handing out an ‘Unsung Hero’ award, Sheehan would be at the head of the line.
“I was in the weight room a lot, because I wanted to be really good at football,” said Sheehan, who was the Big Eight’s tight end/fullback of the year during football season, as well as an all-conference kicker. “But I think it’s more of a confidence thing, because last year I was kind of a smaller defender out there. Now, I feel like a big fish in a little pond. I feel like I’m one of the top dogs out there.”
Klein impressed the upperclassmen in summer workouts, and players like Grimes and Qastin were vocal about keeping him on varsity. Klein has made dramatic strides since the start of the season, and had his best game as a Cardinal against Craig.
“He’s a nice player,” Bavery said. “He's coming on. It was one of his better games. He’s got a big body. I like the way he attacked.”
Grimes agreed.
“He’s going to be really good,” Grimes said of Klein. “Bright future.”
The Cardinals’ present didn’t look so bright when they struggled out of the gate against the Cougars. Craig scored on six of its first eight possessions in building an early 11-point lead.
Cougars 6-foot-8, 275-pound center Nolan Duffy — a Northwest Missouri State football recruit — had seven of his game-high 27 points during Craig’s fast start. While Duffy’s future is on the gridiron, he also has terrific skills on the hardwood, combining a feathery shooting touch with the strength to wreak havoc inside.
“It was pretty hard to guard him,” said Parks, who took turns with Sheehan trying to slow Duffy. “I tried to, like, get into him, move him, but he's not moving. I just tried to make it very difficult. I tried to use my speed against him.”
The Cardinals began using their speed at every position to take control.
After Bavery’s timeout, Middleton scored on six of nine possessions and held Craig scoreless for nearly 5 minutes in surging to a 14-13 lead. Grimes had five points during that burst — including a 23-foot 3-pointer — while Parks had four and Guerrero added a basket.
Middleton slowed the Cougars on the offensive end, then pushed the pace to get good looks and transition baskets on the other end. The Cardinals, who like playing at a faster pace, also went deeper into their bench than Craig — which used just seven players in the first half.
“You know, you get tired. You miss a lot of those shots that were falling early,” Bavery said of Craig. “They took a lot of shots that normally, probably go in. But we made them pay for about a 6, 7, 8 minutes.”
They sure did.
Craig reclaimed a 20-18 advantage, but Middleton immediately answered with a 12-2 burst to take a 30-22 lead and never trailed again. Guerrero began that run with four straight points and Parks added three, including a lay-up off a nifty inbounds play. Grimes, who seemingly has range to Waunakee, also buried one of his five triples — this one from 25-feet.
“Confidence,” Grimes said of his shooting range. “I don't know, it feels nice to just go out and hoop have fun.”
The Cardinals continued having fun against Craig.
By halftime, Middleton’s lead was 41-29, then the Cardinals opened the second half on a 12-2 run and pushed that advantage to 53-31.
Parks keyed that burst with four points, including a basket when he went right around Duffy for a lay-up. Grimes also canned a triple in that spurt, while Qastin had three points and Guerrero had a steal and layup.
“The year has been so much fun. I love it,” Parks said. “Everyone gets to do whatever they want, kind of. We have some set plays that we have to do sometimes, and then we just all together, kind of figure it out.”
Craig closed within 58-47 midway through the second half. The Cardinals answered with a 12-4 run, though, and built their lead back to 70-51 to largely end things.
Parks started that surge with a 3-pointer, then Qastin had back-to-back lay-ups in transition. Guerrero had a lay-up off a runout, and Klein drained a 3-pointer of his own.
Ball game.
“Like we were having run outs and we turned those into some easy baskets,” Bavery said. “We don't like to necessarily leak out, because we don't have that big front line you can always trust and just run out. But when we’re able to get going in the open court we’re pretty dangerous.”
Middleton has been awfully dangerous throughout this surprising season, and this was no different.
The Cardinals shot 50.0% from the floor, making 35-of-70 shots. Middleton forced 25 Craig turnovers, including eight steals, and outrebounded the Cougars, 44-31.
“I mean, I knew we had it in us,” Grimes said of Middleton’s fast start. “Maybe not to this level, but I knew we were going be good. I think the system that the coaches brought helped us a lot. I think they can trust us seniors.
Parks agreed.
“They've really surprised me,” Parks said. “Everyone's running. Didn't know we could run like that. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Jan. 28
Middleton 83, Janesville Craig 64
Craig …………..…. 29 35 – 64
Middleton…………...16 33 – 83
CRAIG – Griffin Roth 1 4-7 3, Keyon Thornton 1 0-0 3, Nathan Daskam 0 1-2 1, Nolan Duffy 11 2-2 27, Dru DeGraaf 4 0-0 8, Malachi Schoonover 1 1-1 3, Jayvon Davis 4 7-9 15, Jonah Sookraj 1 0-2 2.
Totals 27-48 17-24 74.
MIDDLETON – Jackson Guerrero 8 0-2 16, Luke Sheehan 1 0-0 3, Andrew Qastin 6 2-4 14, John Grimes 7 1-2 20, Carter Parks 5 2-4 12, Parker Klein 5 0-1 11, Cormac Carlson 1 1-2 3, Dane Krachey 1 0-0 2, Campbell Kaufman 1 0-0 2. Totals 35 6-17 83.
3-point goals – JC 4 (Duffy 3, Thornton); M 7 (Grimes 5, Klein, Parks).
