MADISON—Madison senior J.P. Dragas scored the 2,000th point of his career in the Blue Streaks’ 70-58 win over visiting Berkshire on Tuesday.
Dragas entered the game needing just 26 points to hit the milestone. He reached it with a fourth-quarter free throw.
“It’s a fantastic accomplishment,” said Madison coach Nick Gustin said of Dragas’ milestone. “It’s just an incredible accomplishment for someone to score 2,000 points in high school basketball.”
Dragas finished with a game-high 28 points, none bigger than that late free throw to seal his fate as one of an elite few OHSAA players who have reached the 2,000-point milestone.
“It’s an honor,” Dragas said. “This sport is so fun for me, and I put in a lot of hours. Sometimes you don’t do it for the game; you do it because you love the sport. Being able to put all those hours in and being able to reach all the milestones on top of it makes everything more enjoyable.”
Berkshire set out to spoil the evening.
The Badgers closed out the first half leading 31-26, but the Blue Streaks found their groove in the second half and opened the third quarter on a 16-6 run that left them in the lead, 42-37.
“We started sluggishly there in the first half,” Gustin said. “I give Berkshire all the credit. They came ready to play. Fortunately, we were able to crawl our way back into it. I wasn’t too happy with our defense in the first half, but it was only a matter of time before we got things moving. We forced turnovers and got Berkshire out of rhythm. The kids responded well.”
That slow start for Madison came in the first quarter, where Berkshire ran out to a 16-9 lead behind 3-pointers from Mason Mendolera and Miles Miller, while Jack Hastings finished with four points in the quarter.
Berkshire continued that hot start with a 7-3 run in the opening minutes of the second stanza. Still, Madison responded in the later stages of the second quarter, swiftly cutting their 11-point deficit down to just five points before heading into the locker room for halftime.
The most significant difference for Madison came in the second half. The Blue Streaks were able to disrupt the offensive flow of Berkshire, leading them to a 51-45 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“We always talk about just keeping the ball in front of us,” Gustin said. “We did an outstanding job in the third quarter of keeping the ball in front of us. We didn’t foul much, and we made an emphasis at halftime to make Berkshire feel us on a catch. We had to ensure they felt our pressure; they got too many good open looks in the first half.”
Noah Crites finished the contest with 11 points, and Seth Negin caught fire in the third, connecting on three consecutive 3-pointers to give him all nine points. Bryant Perkins and Noah Barns pitched in with seven each, while Mac Steel posted six points, and Knolon Albert finished with two points.
“I think it’s just the kind of growth those guys have had. We need them to score, and when they make a few shots, it just breeds their confidence. I think that’s what happened,” Gustin said. “All of a sudden, the team had a good flow and confidence. Every game, you could see them getting slightly more confident and comfortable. It was nice to see those guys get the results they got.”
Madison improved to 13-6 overall with the win and still has three games remaining in the regular season, one of which is a home date with conference-leading Geneva, and the Blue Streaks are still in the hunt for the conference title.
The Blue Streaks are guaranteed one playoff game, but they have their eyes set on a conference title, with two of their final three games being Lake Division showdowns.
“Sometimes, teams at this point in the year can get stagnant; we’ve emphasized this year to make sure that we are mentally, emotionally, and physically focused each day,” Gustin said. “Sometimes we’re there, sometimes we’re not. If we can be consistent, that will give us the best shot to succeed moving forward.”
Berkshire dropped to 9-10 overall on the year, had its four-game win streak snapped, and will look to get back into that flow to close out the regular season.
“We finally had it all come together over the past few weeks; tonight was just an off night for us,” said Berkshire coach Joe Montanaro. “We couldn’t keep the pace we wanted tonight, which affected how we played.”
Jack Hastings led Berkshire with a team-high 20 points, and Cameron Beam posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mason Mendolera followed up with seven points, while Luke Stute and Miles Miller finished with five points each. Billy Verbic connected on one 3-pointer, and Jake Patterson scored two points for the Badgers.
Madison visits Kirtland on Friday while Berkshire hosts Lakeview.
J.P. DRAGAS COMMENTS ON HIS 2,000-POINT MILESTONE
