Janesville Craig’s Keyon’dre Thornton battles for a shot over Milton’s Max Grady in the first half of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Thornton finished with 19 points in the Cougars’ 67-58 victory.
Janesville Craig’s Nolan Duffy puts up a shot in the paint over Milton’s Ike Udy during their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Duffy finished with 18 points in the Cougars' 67-58 victory.
A foul is called on Milton’s Sam Smith as he defends Janesville Craig’s Jayvon Davis on a layup attempt in the first half of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Janesville Craig’s Keyon’dre Thornton battles for a shot over Milton’s Max Grady in the first half of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Thornton finished with 19 points in the Cougars’ 67-58 victory.
ANTHONY WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
JANESVILLE — A high-energy crowd packed Janesville Craig’s gym Wednesday night for a season opening, non-conference boys’ basketball game between the host Cougars and visiting Milton.
Janesville Craig was without three of its starters from a year ago, when it lost the season opener to Milton.
With a large group of new players, junior point guard Keyon’Dre Thornton and senior post Nolan Duffy, flourished and played key roles in the Cougars’ 67–58 victory against Milton.
Thornton scored a team-high 19 points and Duffy produced 18. Max Grady, a sophomore point guard for the Red Hawks, led all scorers with 23.
The Cougars led 29-25 at halftime and expanded that lead to 37-28 after Duffy made a 3-pointer. Each time Milton cut the deficit, Craig had an answer.
Milton’s Ike Udy, left, and Nathan Adcock battle Janesville Craig’s Nolan Duffy for a rebound in the second half of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
ANTHONY WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
The Red Hawks scored six straight and trailed 37-34. Craig junior Dru DeGraaf connected on a 3-pointer.
The Cougars led 42-35 and then 42-39. Thornton made a floater.
Even after Grady jumped a pass to get a steal and turn it into a layup that pulled the Red Hawks within one at 44-43, the Cougars responded with a 11-3 run. During that run, Duffy and Malachi Schoonover each knocked down long-range shots.
Janesville Craig’s Nolan Duffy puts up a shot in the paint over Milton’s Ike Udy during their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Duffy finished with 18 points in the Cougars' 67-58 victory.
ANTHONY WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
Schoonover’s 3-pointer came when he passed the ball to Duffy in the post after the senior called for the ball. It drew the attention of Schoonover’s defender and led to an uncontested shot when Duffy quickly passed it back.
“I thought we survived some not great shooting,” Craig coach Jack Hoag said. “I thought our kids really competed. Our whole goal was to take away middle penetration, and I thought we did a good job of that. Offensively, we played smoother in the second half.”
Neither team had a strong shooting night. Craig made 41% of its shots and Milton made 40%. The Cougars went 10 of 31 on 3-pointers and the Red Hawks went 3 of 17.
A foul is called on Milton’s Sam Smith as he defends Janesville Craig’s Jayvon Davis on a layup attempt in the first half of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
ANTHON WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
“Nathan Daskam and Malachi Schoonover played great defense tonight,” Hoag said.
“Coming into tonight, we did way more preparation,” Thornton said. “We especially bonded a lot. It helped us on the floor as a unit. We talked more, that’s why I feel we just grinded it out and won.”
Milton won last year’s contest at home. In that game, it shot 18 of 49 from the field. On Wednesday, it made 21 of 52 shots.
“Our shot selection was pretty poor at times and our offensive decision-making was too,” Milton coach Ian Kirst said. “We just didn’t allow ourselves to get into an offensive rhythm much. Our pace is always going to be fast, but then the decisions that we made — some of them are just early season stuff, but some of them we just didn’t make the right read.”
In the second half, a technical foul was called for its players failing to check into the game properly. The Red Hawks were warned about it in prior instances. Thornton capitalized by making two free throws to increase Craig’s lead to seven.
“I think that’s kind of a microcosm for the game,” Kirst said. “We were very sped up, offensively, and we made some bad decisions. We were even sped up when we were doing the little things.”
Kirst feels confident that his team can learn from Wednesday. The Red Hawks travel to Oconomowoc for a nonconference game on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2:30 p.m.
“I’m excited about us,” Kirst said, “that’s not going to stop. We were a little sped up and the nerves got to us early. We definitely have some things that we need to work on and this will be great tape.”
On the same day, the Cougars take a trip to Edgewood High School for a nonconference game at 6 p.m.
