MADISON, Wis. – The stage is set for the 2005 Lake Michigan Conference tournament championship, as top-seeded Edgewood College (16-9) defeated No. 4 Lakeland College (14-12) by a final score of 85-81 in the semifinal round at the Todd Wehr Edgedome on Saturday. The Eagles will host No. 2 Concordia University (13-14) for the LMC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament next Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.

Edgewood went 10-of-14 from the free throw line in the final 57 seconds to outlast the Muskies. The Eagles’ Seth Cooper* (Madison, Wis.) scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, and shot 12-of-14 from the foul line.

Lakeland trailed by nine points, 41-32, at halftime. Although the Muskies never led in the contest, they were able to cut Eagle lead down to three points on a few occasions in the second half -- the first time was on a three point basket by James Germaayne with 10:47 remaining.

Cooper and David Michalkiewicz* (Menasha, Wis.) combined 13 points over the next seven minutes, as the Eagles extended their lead to double digits, 72-60. Back-to-back three pointers and a pair of free throws by Kris Saiberlich brought Lakeland back to within three, 82-79, with 14 seconds left to play but it wasn’t enough to catch the Eagles.

Cooper scored 25 points followed by Michalkiewicz, who added a season-high 23 points and eight assists. Greg Blaska (DeForest, Wis.) followed with 15 points and led Edgewood with nine rebounds, while Charlie Averkamp (New Berlin, Wis.) netted 12 points off of the bench.

Edgewood had a difficult time stopping the Muskies’ Nick Zeck, who tallied his fifth consecutive double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Zeck shot 11-of-16 from the field and had a team-high four assists. Germaayne netted 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Saiberlich added 18 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.

Next Saturday the Eagles will be playing for their second trip to the NCAA tourney since their inaugural invitation to the “Big Dance” in 2001-02. Edgewood is 10-4 on its home courts this season with their last loss coming to Concordia back on Feb. 9 at the Edgedome, 74-61. Edgewood defeated the Falcons 73-72 in Mequon back on Jan. 15.

For more information on the LMC tournament, please visit www.lakemichiganconference.org