Middleton falls to Madison Memorial

The final 21 seconds of last Saturday’s boys basketball game between Middleton and Madison Memorial were a microcosm of what unfolded the previous 90 minutes.

Thanks to a furious rally, the Cardinals grabbed a 57-56 lead over the visiting Spartans with 55 seconds to play. On Memorial’s ensuing possession, sophomore forward Sam Mickelson appeared to travel, then drew a highly questionable foul call against Middleton’s Mike Roach with 20.7 seconds left.

Mickelson drained both free throws to give the Spartans a one-point lead.

After a timeout, Middleton junior standout Gavyn Hurley drove into the lane and appeared to draw contact from Mickelson as he let a 10-footer fly with 4 seconds left. The officials swallowed their whistles and the ball spun out.

Memorial added a free throw with 0.8 seconds left and escaped with 59-57 win. Afterwards, much of the discussion centered on the officiating crew of John Furrer, Gregg Dati and Mark Sorensen.

That trio sent Memorial to the foul line 26 times and the Cardinals just 10. And the Spartans finished with a 21-5 edge in free throws made.

“It felt very personal,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “There was a really weird vibe … and I’m not sure why.”

Middleton fell to 12-5 overall with the loss and is now tied for first place in the Big Eight Conference with Madison La Follette at 10-2. Memorial improved to 9-7, 5-7.

Hurley led the Cardinals with 18 points, while Mickelson paced the Spartans with 14.

“I think we’re the better team, but we just gave them the game with all those free throws,” said Middleton senior guard Logan Raffel, who made three three-pointers and had nine points. “That’s tough to overcome.”

Despite the free throw discrepancy, Middleton gave itself a chance down the stretch Trailing, 56-50, with 3 minutes left, Roach rebounded a missed free throw and scored to pull Middleton within four.

The Cardinals broke out a diamond press they’d been practicing all week, and turned the Spartans over on back-to-back possessions. After the second turnover — a steal by Hurley — Raffel got loose and drilled a three-pointer with 1:40 left to pull Middleton within 56-55.

“We brought a lot more energy and intensity during that time,” Hurley said. “I think we worked on that diamond press all week in practice and we executed it perfectly.”

On the Spartans’ next possession, Middleton’s Nick Meinholz took a charge from Memorial’s Bradyn Taylor and the Cardinals regained possession with 1:15 left.

Middleton then got Hurley loose on a curl to the basket, and his lay-up with 55 seconds left gave the Cardinals their first lead of the second half at 57-56.

“I really liked our energy,” Raffel said. “We really brought it. We were trapping everything, forcing turnovers. We know what we can do when we have that pressure.”

Memorial couldn’t get anything going on offense and took a timeout with 37.4 seconds left. Then, Mickelson drew a foul on Roach at 20.7.

“If they’re going to call that, then I’ve got to get the call on the other end,” Hurley said.

He didn’t though. Hurley took the inbounds pass 60 feet from the basket, worked left to right, picked up a screen from Kaden Fosdick and got a clean look at the game-winner.

When it rolled off, though, Middleton was left both heartbroken and extremely frustrated.

“I thought I had it, and it just rolled off,” Hurley said. “I got past Mickelson and he hit me right in the back. Didn't get the call. Can’t really do anything about it.”

Middleton felt semi-helpless much of the first half.

The Cardinals — who are about the furthest thing from the 1980s ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons — were called for 12 first half fouls and Memorial was whistled for just five. At one point, the discrepancy in fouls was 10-1.

That helped Memorial go 13-of-16 from the free throw line in the first half, while the Cardinals didn't have a single attempt. The result was Memorial held a 34-33 lead at the break.

“You can’t give ‘em 16 free points and expect to be anywhere close,” Hurley said. “Honestly I’m surprised we were close with that number.”

Bavery agreed.

“It was just hard to figure out how to play,” Bavery said. “And that makes it difficult to not be as aggressive, when you’re a player and you think you have something clean and they say you don’t. The big disparity in the first half put us in a hole, but that’s on us for not adjusting.”

Memorial — which alternated between a 2-3 matchup zone and a 1-3-1 zone most of the night — pushed its lead to 52-45 with 3:45 remaining. That set the stage for the Cardinals’ late-game run.

“We need to bring energy that earlier,” Raffel said. “The crowd kind of brought it for us, but we need to bring it as a team. We really don't say much, but we need to have a fire underneath our ass to get us going.”

Bavery agreed.

“We told our guys after the game, we can’t fault you for anything,” he said. “But think about the energy and the effort the last 2 ½ minutes of the game. We were fighting through screens and getting there on the catch. If they learned anything from this game it’s how to close out.”

Hurley believes Middleton’s strong finish will help it over the final seven games of the year.

“I still think we’ve got this,” Hurley said. “Win out, keep grinding, get some more confidence. This hurts, but I think we’ll be OK.”

• Middleton 67, Beloit Memorial 51 — The Cardinals got 18 points from Gavyn Hurley and ran away from the Purple Knights in the second half last Thursday. Logan Raffel and Nick Meinholz both added 12 points for Middleton.

The teams were knotted at 24 at halftime. But Middleton outscored Beloit, 43-27, in the second half.

• Middleton 68, Stoughton 60 — The Cardinals outscored the Vikings, 44-37, in the second half and pulled away for a win on Jan. 25.

Gavyn Hurley led Middleton with 19 points, while Logan Raffel and Nick Meinholz both added 12.

• On deck: Middleton hosts Madison West Thursday at 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 29

Madison Memorial 59, Middleton 57

Madison Memorial ……..…. 34 25 — 59

Middleton ………….… 33 24 — 40

MADISON MEMORIAL — Braylen Blue 6, Chen Fong 3, Cole Hendrickson 8, Ian Wischhoff 11, Bradyn Taylor 9, Tyler Schmitt 2, Tyler Kerkhoff 3, Isaiah Burgin 3, Sam Mickelson 14.

MIDDLETON — Logan Raffel 9, Nick Meinholz 9, Kaden Fosdick 8, Easton Zempel 4, Gavyn Hurley 18, Mike Roach 4, Will Comerford 5.

3-point goals: MM 7 (Blue 2, Wischhoff 2, Fong, Kerkhoff, Burgin), Mid. 8 (Meinholz 3, Raffel 3, Hurley, Comerford). Free throws — MM 21-26, Mid 5-10.

Jan. 27

Middleton 67, Beloit Memorial 51

Middleton ………….. 24 43—67

Beloit ………………. 24 27—51

MIDDLETON: Raffel 12, Meinholz 12, Bauer 3, Fosdick 2, Schwartz 3, Zempel 8, Cooney 3, Hurley 18, Roach 6. Totals: 26 7-11 67.

BELOIT: Carroll 3, Bland 9, Abdur-Rasheed 14, Farr 3, Woods 8, Roman 8, Denu 2, McAfee 4. Totals: 17 11-15 51.

3-pointers: Beloit 6 (Carroll, Bland 3, Woods 2, McAfee). Middleton 8 (Raffel 3, Meinholz 2, Bauer, Schwartz, Hurley).

Jan. 25

Middleton 68, Stoughton 60

Stoughton ……..…. 23 37 — 60

Middleton ……….… 24 44 — 68

STOUGHTON — Kaden Stokstad 3, Ty Fernholz 30, Jayden Zywicki 9, Sawyer Schipper 8, Luke Fernholz 10.

MIDDLETON — Logan Raffel 12, Nick Meinholz 12, TJ Bauer 3, Kaden Fosdick 2, Joe Schwartz 3, Easton Zempel 8, Owen Cooney 3, Gavyn Hurley 19, Mike Roach 6.

3-point goals: S 8 (Fernholz 8), Mid 3 (Malterer 2, Easton Jr.); M 8 (Raffel 3, Meinholz 2, Bauer 1, Schwartz 1, Hurley 1). Free throws — S 2-3, Mid 8-12.