MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College's senior Derek Braucht gets some good natured ribbing from his teammates since he's slightly older than the usual college athlete. It's what you would expect when they realize that some of his current teammates were eighth graders when he first entered college. However, no one makes fun of the skill Braucht put on display in Saturday's 72-69 win over Benedictine University. Braucht went 7-for-8 from the field and scored a career-high 20 points with six rebounds to lead the Eagles.
Braucht provided just the offensive spark the Eagles needed to snap a three-game losing streak of painful losses. In the first half, Braucht was part of 7-0 run which gave the Edgewood College (9-11, 8-7 NACC) their biggest lead of the game at 18-7. Trevon Ampe started it with a pair of free throws, and after a score by Braucht, Matt Savatski drilled a three-pointer to end it. Braucht would go on to score Edgewood College's last eight points of the first half to put the Eagles ahead of Benedictine 36-26 at the break.
The 10-point lead didn't last long as Benedictine University came out of the locker room on fire, hitting six of their first seven shots and cutting the margin to 40-39. Braucht answered with another basket and followed a Tal Diekvoss jumper with two more free throws and a layup. After Dylan Rusch scored for a 50-46 Edgewood College lead, Braucht finally missed his first shot of the day, only to race to the other side of the basket and tip-it back it.
Edgewood College seemed to be in control after Adam Freitag and Diekvoss connected on three-pointer and Trevor Neale scored a post move for a 60-53 lead with five minutes to go, but second place Benedictine University (12-8, 10-5 NACC) was not easy to shake. Jumpers by Kevin Rollins and John Dodson cut Edgewood College's lead down to 62-60 where it remained until the final minute.
Edgewood College converted all 10 of the free throw attempts in the last 51 seconds, and it's fortunate they did because Benedictine stayed within striking distance thanks to a three-point play from Dodson and a pair of three-point shots by Michael Blaszczyk. Edgewood College finally breathed a sigh of relief when Blaszcyczyk's 25-foot turnaround jumper at the buzzer bounced off the glass.
Braucht's 20-point night came on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. His previous career high at Edgewood College was 10 points, but he did score 18 points in a game for UW-La Crosse in the 2010-11 season. Rusch did most of his damage at the free throw line, going 10-for-11 and finishing with 18 points. Diekvoss had a pair of three-pointers and scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half. As a team, Edgewood College went 24-for-27 at the free throw line. The Eagles had 15 assists and just eight turnovers, led by Jake Heuer who had a team-high three assists.
Blaszczyk led all scorers with 21 points, thanks in part to four three-point baskets. Tim McGinty added 13 points for Benedictine, while Rollins and Dodson contributed 12 and 10, respectively. Benedictine shot 54.8 percent in the second half, but never managed to regain the lead after going ahead 1-0 to begin the game.
Edgewood College remains in seventh place in the NACC, but improved their chances of clinching one of the eight berths in the NACC tournament. With five games remaining, the Eagles can clinch with two more NACC wins, or one more win and a loss by ninth place Rockford University. Edgewood College travels to Concordia University Wisconsin on Wednesday for their next game.
