Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College shot nearly 60 percent from the field and Ben Wisniewski poured in a game-high 27 points as the Eagles persevered to defeat MSOE in an 83-81 overtime battle of Northern Athletics Conference division leaders at the Todd Wehr Edgedome on Saturday night.

The Eagles went 28-of-47 from the field and 8-of-15 from three-point range en route to the overtime victory. Wisniewski hit the go-ahead bucket with five seconds left in the regulation before MSOE's Austin Meier scored two of his team-high 18 points to send the game to overtime. In the extra session, John Schuster connected on 6-of-8 free throws to finish with eight points in the overtime and 11 for the game. Edgewood College overcame 22 turnovers and 13 missed free throws to beat the Raiders on its home floor.

The Eagles began the game 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range to jump out to a 14-11 lead. The lead would grow to 34-25 on a Jeff Barczak layup with 4:45 left until halftime. Despite missing their last four shots of the half and failing to score a single point for nearly five minutes, the Eagles still managed to shoot 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) from the field and lead MSOE 34-29 at the break.

Final seconds of regulation and postgame interview with Ben Wisniewski

Midway through the second, the Raiders used an 8-2 run to take a 56-50 lead, their largest lead of the game. The Eagles then answered with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 60-58 lead with nearly five minutes to go. With the score tied at 60-60, Kent Faurote came to life with a 3-pointer and a subsequent bucket on back-to-back trips down the floor to give Edgewood College a 65-60 lead and closed out a 15-4 run. Wisniewski's basket with five seconds to go was all the Eagles thought they needed, but then Meier stunned the crowd with MSOE's biggest basket of the game to send it to overtime.

Meier recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals in the loss. It was just the second triple-double performance in NAC men's basketball history and the first since Edgewood College's Charlie Averkamp did it back on Feb. 3, 2007. Averkamp turned in 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in an overtime win over Dominican, which also took place at the Todd Wehr Edgedome.

In overtime on Saturday, Aaron Ritschard, coming off an injury which forced him to miss one game, stepped up and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 73-72 lead. Schuster then did the rest, sealing the game at the free throw line and giving Edgewood College a two-game lead in the NAC North Division.

The Eagles will now travel to Sheboygan, Wis. for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off with Lakeland College on Tuesday.