RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Eagles second game of the week resulted in a second punch to the gut as well. Edgewood College squandered a 10-point first half lead and lost 68-67 to Dominican University when the Stars' Tim Robertson scored a three-point play on a putback with seven second left to play. The loss was the second game in a row the Eagles' opponents had won on their final possession.
Edgewood College (8-10, 7-6 NACC) battled through nine lead changes in the second half alone on Saturday. The Eagles gained the lead for the final time with Joe Klocek and Emilio Lopez scored layups on back-to-back possessions to put Edgewood College ahead 63-61 with 3:55 left to play. Dominican University (2-17, 2-12 NACC) would tie the game twice more, but another bucket by Klocek and a jump shot from Tal Diekvoss kept the Eagles in front 67-65 with 43 second left to play.
On Dominican's final possession, the Stars were forced to settle for a three-pointer late in the shot clock, but Robertson snagged the rebound and was fouled as he laid in the tying basket with seven seconds left. He converted the free throw and the Eagles called timeout to set up a play. Edgewood College got a three-point attempt from Diekvoss and a chance at a rebound basket from Adam Freitag, but both shots missed the mark.
Edgewood College had built their largest lead of the game at 34-24 with 2:21 left in the first half on the strength of inside play and free throw shooting. The Eagles outscored the Stars 20-2 in the paint and made eight of nine free throw attempts in the first half. However, Dominican rallied for 24 inside points and only allowed Edgewood College to make one trip to the free throw line in the second half.
Klocek scored nine points in each half to lead all Eagles with a season-high 18 points. Dylan Rusch scored 12 points, including two three-pointers, and handed out a team-high seven assists. Trevor Neale was the third Eagle in double figures with 11 points. Neale shared high rebound honors with Lopez at seven rebounds apiece. Derek Braucht chipped in nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. The Eagles lit up the Igini Sport Forum with 53.8 percent shooting in the first half, but shot just 41.9 percent, including 2-for-15 from the three-point line, in the second half.
Dominican's Robertson led all scorers with 20 points, including the game winning free throw. Josh Mayberry was the only other Star in double figures with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Dominican University shot 53.3 percent in the second half to fuel their comeback.
The opponents get no easier for the Eagles next week, although the familiar surroundings of the Edgedome will be a welcome sight. Edgewood College hosts MSOE on Tuesday night, and then welcomes second place Benedictine University to the Edgedome on Saturday for Jam the Gym. This year's #UniteToFight campaign at Jam the Gym will raise money and donations for the Second Harvest Foodbank of Dane County. All fans attending Saturday's game are asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate.
