Madison Memorial beats Windermere Prep for Rock Holiday Classic championship

Windermere Prep was aiming to win its own Rock Holiday Classic for the first time since 2015 on Monday night.

But the Lakers didn’t shoot well enough to claim that boys basketball championship.

Madison Memorial of Wisconsin used a stifling halfcourt defense that forced 14 turnovers and beat host Windermere Prep 57-55. The Spartans scored 15 points off those mistakes.

“That team does a great job of trying to pack the paint, making it difficult for us to score inside,” Windermere Prep coach Brian Hoff said. “They scouted us pretty well, and we missed some shots that we’re capable of making.”

It marked the fourth runner-up finish in the tournament for the Lakers (11-2).

Kwan Lewis scored seven of his 12 points in the first quarter as Madison Memorial (5-3) jumped out to a 16-6 lead. Tournament MVP Yacouba Traore added 11 points in the win.

“We’ve been talking all day on defense that we wanted this championship,” Lewis said. “We had to come together play as a team. Lock up on defense, come down on the offensive side and take care of business.”

Madison Memorial held the Lakers to 22% shooting from 3-point range (4 of 18). Windermere Prep managed 52% on 2-point tries.

“We were taking what they were giving,” Hoff said. “I wish we would’ve been a little more patient, but at the end of the day, we have some really good shooters on this team, and I want them to feel confident and knock down open shots.”

Scoring by Windermere Prep’s big men, Elijah Hulsewe and Fanbo Zeng, and a defense that held Madison Memorial to 14% shooting in the second quarter gave the Lakers a 27-26 halftime lead.

Both teams went cold in the third quarter, leaving the score tied 34-34.

But J.R. Mitchell (10 points) scored a layup, then stole the inbounds pass and scored again a few seconds later to put the Spartans ahead 38-34. Windermere Prep got no closer than 2 points the rest of the way.

Zeng had 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and Hulsewe added 12 points. Both made the all-tournament team.

“This game is a great learning experience,” Hoff said. “Madison Memorial does a great job of trying to expose weaknesses, and they did that tonight. They’re a really good team, and we’ll be better for it.”

Windermere Prep, No. 7 in the Sentinel Super 16 area rankings, was the only Florida team in the tournament. The field included two teams from Ohio and one each from Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Windermere Prep’s next game is against the public school right down the road and another Super 16 team, Windermere High School, on Saturday, Jan. 11, as part of the Showdown in O-Town at Orlando Christian Prep.