Sauk Prairie rolls past Portage

Shoring up its defense was a priority for Sauk Prairie’s boys basketball team after an 0-4 start to the season. While it remains a work in progress, Eagles’ coach Sean McGann likes what he has seen the past five weeks. Senior forward/guard Trevor Spray recorded his second straight double-double with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead Sauk Prairie to a 56-32 victory over host Portage in a Badger North Conference boys’ basketball game last Thursday night. “That was like a breaking point for us in terms of we can either continue doing what we’re doing or we can work a ton,” McGann said of the Eagles’ improved play. “The guy that’s really started it all has been Trevor (Spray), who has been awesome in practice. Everyone has responded to him so it’s been good.”  The Eagles held Portage to 24.1% shooting (13-of-54). including 26.3% from beyond the arc (5-of-19). Sauk Prairie committed only nine personal fouls resulting in just two free throw attempts for the Warriors. “When we started out 0-4, we knew we had to be better on defense to compete and win games,” senior point guard Ben German said. “Every practice has been an emphasis on defense and playing the gaps. That’s really helped us.” McGann said a key factor in the Eagles’ turnaround has been their ability to play more physical on both ends of the court, with Spray leading the way. “The last game was pretty physical and last year, he would have shied away from attacking the rim,” McGann said of Spray. “(Against Portage) I think he had three ‘and-ones.’ It’s good to see him going to the rim and being relentless. I love it.” Sauk Prairie wrapped up the first half of the season with a 5-6 record, including a 4-3 mark in conference play. The Eagles will face Monona Grove (4-7) in the fourth-place game of the Badger Challenge on Saturday at Madison Edgewood High School. After allowing 61.5 points per game in its first four games, Sauk Prairie has allowed 47.9 points per contest while winning five of its last seven games. That includes allowing just 61 points in the Eagles’ last two games in back-to-back victories over Baraboo and Portage. “Baraboo and Portage are not teams we are going to be contending with, so although it is great to see those numbers, we realize our competition hasn’t been as great,” McGann said. “So we’re looking forward to seeing how it is against some better teams coming up.” After holding a slim 24-21 lead over Portage (2-10, 1-6) heading into halftime, Sauk Prairie turned up the heat on defense in the second half, allowing the Warriors just nine points over 17-plus minutes. “I was disappointed in our effort in the first half. I felt it was really bad,” McGann said. “But in the second half when I pulled my starters with about 3 minutes left, we had only given up nine points the whole second half and they got a bucket at the end. “That’s what we can do and what we can hang our hat on. That was a much better effort in the second half.”  Added German: “Coach challenged us to play a lot better because we couldn’t play much worse than we did. It was a credit to our guys to come out in the second half and hold them and put the ball in the hoop.” Meanwhile, Spray paced an effective Eagles’ offense, which shot 20-of-44 (45.5%) from the floor. Sauk Prairie committed only 11 turnovers and also outrebounded Portage, 38-30. “I love how Trevor’s been playing, really aggressive,” German said. “He’s making it really easy for us.” Senior guard Parker Breunig chipped in with 10 points, junior forward/guard Brandt Wilson had nine points, eight rebounds and two assists, and German added four points, eight rebounds and one assist for the Eagles. But it was Sauk Prairie’s aggressive man-to-man pack defense that ruled the day. Senior guard Delnato Sheppard Jr. led Portage with nine points, all on three-pointers. “Last year, towards the end of the year, we were primarily all 2-3 zone,” McGann said. “I don’t think we’ve played a possession of zone over the last three or four weeks.  “We’re just asking a lot of our guys defensively to guard their yard, is what we say, and take away rhythm 3-point shots. I think we’ve done a good job of that.” Spray was 8-of-15 from the floor, including 1-of-3 beyond the arc, and added three assists, three blocked shots and a steal for Sauk Prairie, which notched its fourth victory in five games. McGann said the Eagles are looking to make an impact on the conference race the rest of the way. “It’s almost like a tale of two seasons,” McGann said. “Our first couple of games we were searching for an identity. I don’t think we knew who we were or the things that we had to do to win. We had new roles and had some injuries. “But we decided we’re done being a soft team. We needed to be tougher. So we demanded a lot more of them in practice. We lost to DeForest by one on the road. If we can play with DeForest on the road, there’s not a team we can’t beat. But there’s not a team that can’t beat us. It’s just bringing that intensity every game.”   • On deck: Sauk Prairie will meet Milton in the fourth-place game of the Badger Challenge at Madison Edgewood High School on Saturday at approximately 12:40 p.m. The Eagles then return to Badger North Conference action at Waunakee on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7:15 p.m. “I love the challenge, it’s one of my favorite things,” said McGann, who competed in it as a player at Baraboo but was denied a chance to coach in the series last year when inclement weather forced Sauk Prairie’s game to be postponed. “I loved playing in it as a player because all of the teams are there. “I’m real excited. I’m planning to stay and watch other games. I just love the atmosphere of having everyone at one site. I’m excited where we’re at. Our conference is wild right now.”   Jan. 16 Sauk Prairie 56, Portage 32 Sauk Prairie …...... 24 32 — 56 Portage ……....….. 21 11 — 32 SAUK PRAIRIE (fg ft-fta pts) — Kyle Been 1 0-0 3, Tyler Uselman 0 1-2 1, Ben German 1 2-2 4, Isaac Breunig 2 2-2 6, Trevor Spray 8 6-10 23, Brandt Wilson 4 0-0 9, Parker Breunig 4 0-1 10, Kyle Breunig 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 11-19 56. PORTAGE — Brett Walker 2 0-0 5, Cooper Roberts 0 1-2 1, Isaac Paul 3 0-0 7, Matthew Miles 3 0-0 6, Alex Schuette 1 0-0 2, Logan Breunig 1 0-0 2, Delnato Sheppard Jr. 3 0-0 9. Totals 13 1-2 32. 3-point goals: SP 5 (Been 1, Spray 1, Wilson 1, P. Breunig 2); P 5 (Walker 1, Paul 1, Sheppard 3). Total fouls: SP 9; P 17.