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The superhero set the tone early, and the sidekick finished it late. Together, they combined for 49 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists.That was the story for the Wisconsin Badgers (5-2) Saturday afternoon, as forward Jon Leuer scored 20 of his game-high (and career-high) 29 points in the first half against South Dakota. In the next half, point guard Jordan Taylor cemented the Badgers’ 76-61 win by contributing 14 of his 20 points in the game’s final 15 minutes. Taylor missed the first triple-double in UW history by one assist, finishing with nine and 11 rebounds.“How about that performance”? UW head coach Bo Ryan said of Taylor’s game. “Jordan was definitely the difference-maker.”In the first half, Leuer and the Badgers came out on fire on the offensive end. Against a South Dakota team that it knew would frequently push the ball up the court and take quick shots, Wisconsin took advantage of the many opportunities it saw on the offensive end. The Badgers shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first half, taking three more shots than South Dakota did en route to shooting 46.7 percent.Leuer converted seven of his 13 first-half shot attempts, including five of eight from behind the arc. The 6-10, 228 lb. senior also pulled down three rebounds in the first half, finishing with nine, and equaled his career-high with four blocks.“I definitely worked on [my shot] in the offseason, just trying to improve my shot and make it more consistent,” Leuer said. “But basically, just taking the looks that the defense gives me and trying to make the right reads. Jordan was finding me in some spots, and he penetrates the lane so well that a lot of times, the defense has to collapse on him. It’s mainly just spotting up and getting my feet set and getting down ready to shoot it. I think that’s the biggest difference.”Each team had seven turnovers in the first half, but the Badgers had only two in the second half and the Coyotes had five. Wisconsin also finished with 20 assists, and as a result, the Badgers’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.80 on the season surpassed Kansas’ 1.78 as the nation’s best.“We haven’t been one of the best teams in the country as far as taking care of the ball by accident,” Ryan said. “You just follow the rules.”While Ryan was unhappy with the Badgers’ first-half turnovers, the defense surely assuaged those concerns in the second half. The Coyotes scored only 24 points in the second half, and they shot a poor 28 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range. For the game, South Dakota finished 38.2 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from behind the arc.Taylor was also a big reason for the Badgers’ second half improvement. After shooting 3-6 from the field and 0-2 from behind the arc, Taylor continued his hot shooting with 4-9 and 2-4 in the second half, respectively. The 6-1, 195 lb. point guard also finally got to the foul line in the second half, sinking all four of his attempts.“I was trying to be aggressive and trying to create other opportunities for myself and for my teammates, whatever the defense allows,” Taylor said. “I think we were attacking a little bit.”For Leuer, Taylor’s complete game effort was remarkable.“He showed tonight just how he runs the show,” Leuer said. “Like I said, he’s just able to get in the lane, just cause so many different problems for the defense that they have to help on him. He just makes great decisions with the ball, too. He finds the open guy; he’s just a fun point guard to play with. I’m glad we have him on our side.” read more