Box Score
DE PERE, Wis. – For the second consecutive season, the Edgewood College men's basketball team upset a nationally ranked University of Chicago team. This year the Eagles came away with a well earned 67-61 victory over the Maroons. The Eagles played stellar defense all night long and only turned the ball over 11 times.
After the Eagles (5-5) mounted their largest lead of the game, 16 points with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game, No. 24 Chicago (6-3) fought back and cut the deficit to just two points, 63-61 with just 1:38 remaining. On their next trip, the Maroons missed a three-point shot that would have given them the lead, and the Eagles converted on the other end. With both the game clock and the shot clock running down the Maroons double-teamed Ben Wisniewski which left Jeff Barczak wide open. Barczak then drilled his only three-point basket of the night to give the Eagles a five point lead. He then hit two free throws to seal the win for the Eagles.
In the first half, Edgewood College jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead before Chicago came back to take a 4-2 lead, their only lead of the game. However, the Eagles responded by scoring the next 10 points and 11 of 13 to take a 13-6 lead. The Eagles then pushed their lead to 14 points, 26-12 after a Wisniewski three-point shot with 6:05 to play in the first half. After a couple free throws by the Maroons, Barczack took a beautiful pass from Andrew Cobb and threw down a dunk to push the lead back to 12 points, and the Eagles took a 31-20 lead into the break.
Coming out of intermission, the teams exchanged baskets and the Eagles finally gained their largest lead of the game, 16 points with 12:16 to play. Edgewood College would again gain a lead of 16 points with 11:24 to go before the Maroons fought back. Over the next three minutes, Chicago outscored the Eagles 12-2 to cut the deficit to just six points. After the Maroons cut the lead to three points with 6:15 remaining, the Eagles scored six straight points on a Wisniewski layup and a couple jump shots by Kent Faurote to push the lead back to nine points with 4:16 to play.
The Maroons again fought back and cut the lead to just two with just over a minute to play, although it was not enough as the Eagles held on for the well earned 67-61 victory.
For the game, Edgewood College took care of the ball as they only turned the ball over 11 times and their defense was too much for the Maroons to handle in the first half. Chicago only shot 23.8 percent from the field in the frame and had nine turnovers.
Wisniewski led all scorers with his season-high of 24 points, which marked the fourth consecutive game he has led the Eagles in scoring. Barczak poured in 16 points while Faurote scored seven points. Cobb led the Eagles with eight rebounds and tallied six points of his own. The Maroons had four players in double figures and were led by Steve Stefanou who had 13 points.
The Eagles will face Northwestern (Minn.) College tomorrow in the championship of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament. Northwestern defeated No. 15 St. Norbert 72-70 in the other game of the tournament. Edgewood College will provide live audio and St. Norbert College will provide live stats for the contest. Links for both can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
