Box Score
LISLE, Ill. – With a top seed in next week's Northern Athletics Conference Tournament at stake the Edgewood College men's basketball team had all the motivation they needed in the NAC Challenge game, but Benedictine University had other ideas as they turned back the Eagles 78-64 at the Rice Center.
Edgewood College led for much of the first half, fueled early on by three-pointers from John Schuster and Kent Faurote followed by a fastbreak layup by Faurote which gave the Eagles a 20-11 lead. Benedictine would come back, scoring 18 of the next 24 points to take a modest three-point lead at 29-26. Ben Wisniewski would eliminate that margin with his second three-pointer of the game with four and a half minutes left in the first half. The two Eagle squads would trade the lead four more times, before Faurote fed Jon Ciche with two seconds left to give Edgewood College a 38-37 halftime lead.
Twelve seconds into the second half, Benedictine had regained the lead on an A.J. Brown jump shot, and Edgewood College would never lead again. After a Ciche layup cut the Benedictine lead to 45-44, BU went on a backbreaking 11-0 run to take a 56-44 lead with 11:30 left to play. Edgewood College would respond quickly, cutting the lead to four twice, first on a Schuster three-point basket and again on a layup by Derek Nkemnji. However, when Edgewood College was force to foul down the stretch, Benedictine made them count hitting 15 of 16 free throws in the final three and a half minutes of the game, sealing Edgewood College's third straight loss.
Edgewood College (13-12) was led by Schuster who was one of four players to reach double figures. Schuster went 4-for-6 from the field and made both of his three-point field goal attempts to finish with 13 points. Jeff Barczak scored 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while Faurote and Aaron Ritschard chipped in 10 points apiece. Ciche had seven points and nine rebounds to go with one blocked shot marking the 26th straight game he was swatted at least one opponent's shot attempt.
Jared Bailey led Benedictine (18-7) and all scorers with 21 points, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Rob Bridgeman came off the bench to add 16 for the NAC South Division champions.
For Edgewood College, the loss places them as the second seed in the NAC Men's Basketball Tournament which starts Wednesday night. The Eagles will host #7 seed Wisconsin Lutheran College for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Todd Wehr Edgedome.
