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Madison Memorial holds off Janesville Parker at foul line

12/03/2021, 9:45am CST
By Mark Miller

Braylen Blue

Janesville Parker kept coming, but Madison Memorial answered every challenge. 

Making an impressive 25 of 32 attempts from the foul line, including several huge tries with under a minute left, Madison Memorial improved to 3-0 with a hard-earned 60-57 victory over Janesville Parker in a Big Eight Conference game played Thursday in the Memorial gymnasium. 

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half and heading into the locker room at half down by a 33-21 count, Janesville Parker finally solved Madison Memorial's 1-3-1 zone defense and slowly chipped away at its deficit.

On several occasions in the final five minutes of the game, the Vikings reduced the margin to three points, but each time, the Spartans had the answer, and most often that came at the foul line.

Sophomore Bradyn Taylor, junior Braylen Blue, senior AJ Brummel and freshman Ian Wischhoff made pressure-packed free throw in the closing minutes for Memorial.

Wischhoff was particularly impressive for Memorial as the 5-foot-9 left hander, playing in just his third varsity game, came off the bench to score 18 points. He played with confidence and poise, and used his quickness and skill to get around defenders.

"Ian is a good player and he's fearless, just like his older brother (junior Aidan Wischhoff)," Memorial coach Steve Collins said. "He doesn't get rattled. We were missing two starters tonight, so I was happy with the win."

Sophomore forward Sam Mickelson (6-7), who scored 15 points in a win over Adams-Friendship last week, missed the game with a bruised hand. But he is expected to return for Memorial's game Saturday at Middleton.

Junior Jackson Green (6-1), a good perimeter shooter, is also expected to return to the Spartans' lineup soon.

Like Ian Wischhoff, Blue competed with plenty of composure and was a thorn in Parker's side on defense as he had countless deflections. The promising 6-foot-4 lead guard used his length and anticipation to tip the ball and create some turnovers while playing on top of the Spartans' 1-3-1 zone defense. 

Offensively, Blue picked his spots and was efficient, finishing with 11 points and drilling a big second-half three-point basket to help stem one of Parker's rallies. 

"Braylen is composed and he's like 'steady Eddie' with the ball in his hands," Collins said. "That's what makes him a good point guard. I have a bunch of good ball handlers so pressure defense doesn't really bother us too much."

Brummel provided a big lift off the bench for Collins as the 6-0 senior guard hit a three-point basket and scored 12 points. 

"I have never coached any of the guys on our team since we missed last year due to COVID-19," Collins said. "I think we can be a very good basketball team come February. We aren't there yet, but we are having a lot of fun. It's like it's my third year coaching again. It's been so much fun with these guys."


Jake Naber

Parker, which opened its campaign with an impressive road win at Milwaukee Bradley Tech on Tuesday, got a game-high 23 points from forward Jake Naber. The 6-foot-8 senior rebounded well on both ends and was able to catch the ball at the high post and finish drives to the basket, often through contact. 

Sophomore JJ Douglas, a muscular 6-5 post player with plenty of interest from NCAA Division I football programs, contributed 13 points for the Vikings, who went 18-9 a year ago playing an independent schedule.

"As JJ gets more experience, he and Jake will be really good on the frontline for us," Parker coach Matt Bredesen said. "Both of those guys did a lot of good things for us tonight."

So did junior lead guard Tre Miller (6-0). Coming off a 27-point performance against Bradley Tech, Miller ran Parker's offense and scored 13 points before fouling out late in the game.

"We started out slow against their 1-3-1 defense and they were able to get a lot of deflections," Bredesen said. "I think we panicked a little bit and they sped us up. But we settled down and played a very good second half." 

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