Five-foot-5 Madison guard Daniel Ungerleider knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 18 points during a 64-51 victory over Robinson on Dec. 4. Photo by Jon Roetman.
Following Friday’s “Readers are Leaders Tip Off” contest against Robinson, Madison senior guard Daniel Ungerleider was asked about his listed height of 5 feet, 8 inches.
“That’s not accurate,” he said.
Ungerleider, a team leader playing in his third varsity season, is actually 5 feet 5, which is fitting for the vertically-challenged Warhawks, whose tallest players are listed at 6-3. But while Ungerleider’s roster height is off by a few inches, the accuracy of his perimeter shooting helped the Madison boys’ basketball team earn its second victory in as many nights.
Ungerleider made five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points as Madison defeated Robinson 64-51 on Dec. 4 at South Lakes High School.
The Warhawks won both of their games at the two-day event, including a 43-40 victory over Archbishop Carroll on Dec. 3.
Madison opened the season with a 62-47 loss against Vienna rival Oakton on Dec. 1.
“I think it was a huge confidence builder,” Ungerleider said about the Warhawks’ performance at the “Readers are Leaders Tip Off.” “We were all pretty disappointed after the first loss and we were talking together about [how] we’ve got to come focused each game. Even yesterday, we didn’t play as well as we thought we should have, so it was great to come out today [with] the entire team ready to play and the entire team contributing ..."
Madison built a 38-26 halftime lead against Robinson. Ungerleider opened second-half scoring with his fourth 3-pointer, and added his fifth in the final quarter. He averaged 12.3 points during the Warhawks first three contests and knocked down 10 3-pointers.
“He doesn’t back down,” third-year Madison head coach Kevin Roller said about Ungerleider. “He competes. Some friends of mine call him ‘The Bulldog.’ We joke sometimes because I’m 6-3 and he’s not, but when you dribble the ball this far off the ground, you become a one-man press break. When he’s focused, he controls a high school basketball game. That simplifies everything offensively: get him the ball and he’s going to control what happens and then he can shoot the ball a bit.”
Roller also praised junior forward Nick Conforti, who finished with 14 points against the Rams.
“He’s my 5-foot-10 4-man right now,” Roller said. “I thought he was exceptional tonight.”
Junior guard Johnny Corish scored 11 points for the Warhawks. Senior guard Taiga Walker finished with nine points and senior guard Brett Wellde had eight.
Senior center Dillon Most and sophomore forward Johnny Hecht are Madison’s tallest players, both listed at 6-3. How do the Warhawks compensate for their lack of height?
“All five guys have to box out,” Roller said. “For a high school team, we’re not perfect, but we box out about as well as any high school team I’ve ever coached.”
Madison improved to 3-1 with a 64-50 win over Trinity Christian on Tuesday. The Warhawks will host Marshall at 7:15 p.m.on Friday, Dec. 11 and will open Conference 6 play at home against Hayfield on Dec. 15.