MADISON, Wis. (November 18, 2006) -- The Edgewood College men's basketball team opened up its regular season with a Northern Athletics Conference win over Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Saturday night but had to overcome a first half scare from the Crusaders. The Eagles (1-0, 1-0 NAC) eventually pulled away, however, with a 80-55 victory at the Todd Wehr Edgedome.

The Crusaders (0-1, 0-1 NAC) kept pace with the Eagles the entire first half as they went into the half trailing by five, 37-32. However, the the College came out hot in the second half and shot an incredible 69.2 percent from the field to power the Eagles to the victory.

Chris DeMarco (Appleton, Wis.) led the way for the Eagles by shooting 11-of-14 from the field to compile a game high 29 points. Jesse Espe (Monroe, Wis.) came off the bench to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds in the effort. Jon Ciche (Franklin, Wis.) managed to record three blocks in five minutes of playing time due to an ankle injury he sustained in the early moments of the game. The status of his injury is unknown at this time.

Even without one of their big men, the Eagles still showed their strength on the boards as they out-rebounded the Crusaders 47-17 with Charlie Averkamp (New Berlin, Wis.) leading the way individually with 12 rebounds.

Micah Pfaffe led the Crusaders as he scored 16 points and Mike Knepp added 10 in the losing effort for Maranatha. Edgewood College will take on UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Tip-off is slated for 7:15 p.m. Live audio can be heard by logging on to www.EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com or broadcast on Relevant Radio 1240 AM.