Box Score
MADISON, Wis. - On the road to a conference title, teams have to avoid every pothole and speed bump along the way. On Tuesday night at the Edgedome, the NAC North leading Eagles couldn't avoid the fundamentally sound Crusaders, and Maranatha Baptist escaped with a 56-53 victory. It was the Crusaders' first Northern Athletics Conference victory of the season.
Maranatha Baptist showed no intention of going quietly, as they matched the Eagles basket for basket through four ties and 12 lead changes in the first 11 minutes of the game. After a Kent Faurote fastbreak layup following an Andrew Cobb steal gave the Eagles a 20-19 lead, Maranatha Baptist would close the half on an 18-10 run to claim a 37-30 halftime advantage. Edgewood College (8-7, 5-2 NAC) shot just 37.5 percent (12-for-32), but more surprisingly, missed all six three-point attempts.
The back-and-forth action continued into the second half, with the Eagles trying to mount a run to overtake the Crusaders, but Maranatha Baptist (4-8, 1-7 NAC) holding off each surge with a key bucket. Edgewood College finally made their first three-point basket of the game on their 11th attempt, this one by Cobb to cut the Crusader lead to 51-49 with just under five minutes to play.
After a pair of Crusader turnovers, Ben Wisniewski had the chance to give the Eagles the lead when he was fouled on a three-point attempt. However, Wisniewski connected on just one of his three free throws and the Eagles still trailed by a point with a little more than three minutes to play. Maranatha Baptist's Marcus Kirby nailed a three-point basket to put the Crusaders back up by four shortly thereafter.
Cobb sank one of two free throws to bring the Eagles back within one at 54-53 with 1:41 to play. The Crusaders missed two of four free throws down the stretch to give the Eagles a chance to tie the game, but a jumper by Faurote was off the mark with 11 seconds to play, and the Eagles turned the ball over on their last attempt with five seconds to go.
Wisniewski and Faurote finished with a team-high 12 points apiece and were the only Eagles in double figures. Faurote also lead the Eagles with seven rebounds and five steals. Derek Nkemnji added eight points, while Cobb had four assists. Edgewood College shot just 38.5 percent (20-for-52) for the game and was only 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from the three-point line.
Josh Stein led Maranatha Baptist with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. The Crusaders snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Eagles dating back to a 90-79 win at the Edgedome on February 20, 2003. It was just Maranatha Baptist's fourth win over the Eagles in the last 19 seasons.
Edgewood College will have little time to regroup as Concordia Wisconsin comes to the Edgedome on Thursday night. The Falcons now sit just a half game behind the Eagles for first place in the NAC North Division. Tip off will be at 7:00 p.m.
