MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College put together a promising second half and outscored its nationally-ranked opponent after the break but allowed a late first half run that ended up being the difference Tuesday night at home. The Eagles dropped to 1-8 after an 82-66 loss to 19th-ranked UW-Stevens Point in the Edgedome and were led by Sy Staver's 13 points and five assists off the bench.
Edgewood College was within four points as late as 13:49 in the first half after Emilio Lopez's tip in. The Pointers would then go on an 8-2 run to take a double-digit advantage that they would never surrender the rest of the way.
The Pointers' lead ballooned to 16 but back-to-back buckets minutes later from Dylan Heemstra and Tyler Lemke cut the deficit to 10 points with 3:31 left in the half. The Pointers would then close out the half by scoring the final seven points to take a 41-24 lead with them into the break.
The Eagles then showed what they were capable of on offense thanks to sparks from the trio of Staver, Tyler Westrick and Trevon Ampe. Staver scored all but two of his career high 13 points in the second half while Westrick scored all of his 10 after the break. Ampe, who was limited to seven minutes and no points in the first half, then scored seven after the intermission.
The Eagles trailed by about 20 over the first five minutes of the second half but the Eagles managed to pull within 12 with 10:24 remaining following an Arik Anderson three-pointer from the corner.
The Pointers would stretch it back to an 18-point lead with 5:07 left and the Eagles would never get closer than 13 from there on out.
After shooting just 34.8 percent in the first half, the Eagles turned it up a notch and shot 56.0 percent in the second (14-of-25). Staver, Westrick, Ampe and Anderson combined to shoot 11-of-12 in the second half alone and Staver dished out four of his five assists after the break as well. In the second half the Eagles outscored the Pointers 42-41.
Staver's 13 points were three more than his previous top mark and his five assists just beat out his previous career high by one. Ampe's seven points tied for third on the team alongside Heemstra while Ampe led the team in boards with five. Spencer Barnes (2) and Anderson both hit two three-pointers for the Eagles while Jim Bridges hauled in four boards.
The Eagles now have only two more non-conference matchups left on the year. They will both take place at the Just A Game Tournament in the Wisconsin Dells on Dec. 29-30. The Eagles will take on Carroll University (7-0) at 8 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and No. 1 Augustana College (Ill.) 8-0 on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 5 pm. Both games will be played at the Just A Game Fieldhouse.
