PEORIA, Ill. – Head coach Justin Meyer promised his guys an experience on their trip to play NCAA Division I Bradley University, and the team earned just that. The Eagles battled the long, athletic Braves hard for 40 minutes in a 78-42 exhibition game loss at Carver Arena.
In the first half, Edgewood College struggled to generate much of anything inside the arc, but did some damage from the three-point line. Trailing 21-6, the Eagles temporarily silenced the Braves crowd with three straight three-point bombs. Spencer Barnes hit the first, and Adam Freitag followed with a transition three on the next possession. On the next trip, freshman Sy Staver found Freitag again and the Eagles had quickly trimmed Bradley's lead to 21-15. However, the Braves would continue to take advantage of the size inside for a 35-18 halftime lead. All 18 of the Eagles first half points came from beyond the arc.
Bradley pulled away further early in the second half, but Edgewood College defended the Braves well in the final 10 minutes. Bradley largest lead of the game came at 63-27 with 8:32 to go, but junior Jim Bridges scored on a short jumper in the paint and a sweet post move for back-to-back field goals. Two possessions later Dylan Heemstra nailed a three-point basket to get the Eagles back to 65-34.
Freitag led the Eagles with 10 points and a pair of three-point baskets. Barnes and Heemstra had six points apiece. Staver led the Eagles in both rebounds with six and assists with three. Edgewood College was 8-for-31 (25.8 percent) from the three-point line, and hit eight of nine free throws. Every healthy player for the Eagles played in the game.
For Bradley University, Callum Barker led three Braves in double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye had 12 points while Ronnie Suggs chipped in 10 points. The Braves shot 45.5 percent from the field, but the Eagles limited Bradley to only 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from the three-point line.
Edgewood College will open the regular season on November 16 against Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. The Eagles first home game isn't until December 1 against MSOE.
