Box Score
MADISON, Wis. – By looking at the box score one might think the Edgewood College men's basketball game versus Concordia University Wisconsin would have gone down to the wire. However, two key stats, free throws and rebounding, tilted the game in favor of the Falcons. The Eagles dropped their second consecutive home game, 79-68 to the Falcons on Thursday night at the Edgedome.
Down one point just over seven minutes into the contest, Edgewood College (8-8, 5-3 NAC) went on a quick 5-0 scoring spurt. Michael Gehring started the run with a jumper from the paint and Nick Walusayi ended it with a three-point basket to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game, 17-13. The Falcons (8-8, 5-4 NAC) answered with an Edward Newton-Kemp three-point basket and a Corey Stark jumper to take a one point lead halfway through the first frame.
From that point, the Falcons outscored the Eagles 13-3 over the next four minutes to stretch their lead to 11 at 31-20. Concordia Wisconsin's lead swelled to 13 points before the Jake Guziewski hit two free throws late in the first half to cut the deficit to 11 at the break, 41-30. Both teams shot well in the first half, with the Eagles shooting 45.5 percent from the floor, only to be outdone by the Falcons who shot 50 percent from the field.
Jeff Barczak tried to get the Eagles back into the game as he drilled a three-point basket and a jump shot in the first two minutes of the half to pull the Eagles within six points at 41-35. However, the Falcons responded by going on a run of their own, scoring the next nine points and increasing the lead to 15 with just over 14 minutes to play.
Edgewood College finally cut the lead to single digits with just over four minutes left, and would get as close as eight points after a Derek Nkemji layup with 1:54 remaining. However, it was not enough as Concordia Wisconsin made 8-of-12 free throws in the final three minutes to secure a 79-68 victory.
For the game, the Falcons outrebounded the Eagles 41-31, including 18-10 on the offensive glass. Edgewood College outshot the Falcons, hitting 50 percent of their shots from the field while Concordia Wisconsin shot 44.6 percent from the floor. However, the Eagles shot a mere 45.5 percent from the free throw line, 10-for-22 and 30 percent from three-point range, 6-for-20.
Ben Wisniewski led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points while Barczak tallied 14 points, all coming in the second half. Walusayi scored a season-high 10 points in the loss. The Falcons had five scorers in double figures and were led by Stark's 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Edgewood College still holds a half game lead over the Falcons in the Northern Athletics Conference North Division. The Eagles will look to get back into the winning column on Saturday when the host Dominican University at Edgewood College's annual Jam the Gym event. Edgewood College will provide live video and live stats for the 4:45 tipoff. Both links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.
