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MADISON, Wis. - The University of Dubuque made seven of their first 11 shots to open up a 16-4 lead and Edgewood College never cut the margin under 10 points again, as the Spartans spoiled the Eagles home opener 90-69. All five Spartan starters scored in double figures in a balanced attack.
Josh Bellaire and Michael Okpalaeze scored two buckets apiece in the opening run and Spartan point guard Taylor Blum nailed a pair of three pointers for the early cushion. Edgewood College appeared to have righted the ship when Kent Faurote hit a three and followed it with a steal and breakaway lay-up. John Schuster then scored a jump shot in the lane to cut the lead to 22-12. However, the Spartans slowly rebuilt their lead as high as 17 points and took a 43-30 edge into halftime.
University of Dubuque (2-0) continues their hot shooting after the break rolling up a 75-48 lead with just 5:33 to play. Edgewood College gave their fans one last reason to cheer from that point, as the Eagles went on a stunning 17-1 run in just three minutes to cut the Spartans' lead to 76-65. Junior Aaron Ritschard sparked the rally, with two steals and two buckets. Faroute added a three-pointer in that span as well. From that point, the Spartans made 11 straight free throws to ice the game.
Edgewood College (1-2) was led in scoring by freshmen Ben Wisniewski and Faurote with 14 points apiece. Faurote also had a game-high four steals. Senior Jon Ciche had eight points, six rebounds and four blocked shots, while Schuster had a team-best four assists. The Eagles shot 46.4 percent in the first half, but struggled to shoot just 27.9 percent in the second. They finished the game at 35.2 percent.
Okpalaeze went 9-for-13 from the field to pace the Spartan attack with 20 points. Blum nailed four three-point baskets to finish with 17 points and six assists. The Spartans shot 54.8 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free throw line.
Edgewood College will host another non-conference opponent next Tuesday in North Park University from the powerful CCIW. Game time is 7:00 p.m. and all the action can be heard at EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.
