Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. – It wasn't a matter of if Ben Wisniewski would start filling up the stat sheet; it was a matter of when. After a relatively slow start to the season, last year's Northern Athletics Conference Freshman of the Year has found his stroke, scoring 22 points to lift the Edgewood College men's basketball team to a 79-66 win over Benedictine University. Wisniewski averaged 20 points over two games this week.
The battle of the NAC's two preseason divisional favorites was as tight as could be expected for most of the contest. Edgewood College (4-4, 3-1 NAC) had a seven-point lead midway through the first half at 29-22, but Benedictine would erase the gap and take a one-point halftime lead at 38-37. Andrew Cobb had seven first half points to lead Edgewood College at the break. Wisniewski, a sophomore from New Berlin had six points in the first half, but most of his damage was yet to come.
Benedictine (3-4, 1-2 NAC) appeared to have seized control of the game in the first part of the second half. Terry Licht hit a jumper that gave the NAC South Division favorites a 56-46 lead with 12:22 left to play. However, a stunning 11-0 run put Edgewood College back in front less than three minutes later. Jeff Barczak started and ended the run with a pair of layups. In the middle was a three-point basket by Kent Faurote, followed by a rare four-point play from Wisniewski (see this highlight on the video below).
Benedictine regained the lead, but another three-point bomb by Wisniewski tied the game for the sixth time at 63-63 with 6:15 remaining. From that point, the Edgewood College defense took over, holding Benedictine to one field goal and 11.1 percent shooting for the rest of the game. Edgewood College, meanwhile got another bucket from Wisniewski and a three-pointer from Barczak for a 71-63 lead. Edgewood College went 8-for-11 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal their third conference victory.
Wisniewski went 7-for-15 from the field including 3-for-4 at the three-point line and a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Barczak added 15 points, while Faurote had 12 points and team-high seven rebounds. The difference in the game was surely at the free throw line, where Edgewood College went 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) compared to just 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) for Benedictine. Edgewood College also committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
Edgewood College's final game before Christmas will be another date on the road. The Eagles will meet the Spartans of the University of Dubuque on December 21, following final exam week. The Eagles and Spartans can be heard live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com beginning at 7:00 p.m.
