AURORA, Ill. – Two regular season wins over NACC co-champion Aurora University will be a nice feather in the cap of the Edgewood College men's basketball team, but it won't erase the sting of Tuesday's loss for a while. The Eagles rallied back from a 17-point halftime deficit, but could never regain the lead in a season-ending 77-69 loss to the Spartans in a NACC Tournament semifinal. The Eagles end the year at 14-13.
The fourth-seed Edgewood College showed how disruptive they can be on the defensive end of the floor. Trailing 10-2 early, the Eagles held Aurora University (20-7) to just one basket in a 19-2 run which lasted nearly eight minutes of the first half. Tal Diekvoss hit a pair of three-pointers, while Trevon Ampe and Trevor Neale scored a couple of inside baskets each to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 21-12. However, the Spartans responded with a 10-1 run to tie the game, and then made three three-pointers in the final four minutes of the half for a 40-30 halftime lead.
The Spartans lead ballooned to 47-30 early in the second half, behind a Kalmon Stokes layup and five straight points from Tyler Hall. When the Eagles, desperately needed a spark, they got it from Emilio Lopez. Lopez drilled a the first of his three three-pointers on the night and Klocek followed with one of his own for lightning fast 9-0 run to get the Eagles back in the game.
Top-seed Aurora still lead 55-41 with 12 minutes to play, when Lopez and Diekvoss teamed up for another thrilling run. Diekvoss nailed back-to-back three-point shots and then scored another jumper for eight straight points. Lopez backed that up with a mid-range jumper and a layup off a pass from Neale, and Edgewood College was within two points at 55-53.
After a three-point play from Neale with 6:13 to go to keep the Eagles within one possession at 62-59, the game still hung in the balance. Over the next three minutes, neither team found the crucial basket they needed despite a flurry of opportunities at both ends of the floor. Finally, Aurora broke the stalemate with a Gavin Walker layup and a huge corner three-pointer by Nick Kladis. A free throw by Walker and dunk by Kalmon Stokes, put Aurora ahead 70-59 and forced the Eagles into desperation mode. Lopez hit two more threes in the final minutes, but it wasn't going to be enough to salvage the win.
Diekvoss ended his career with four three-pointers and a 20-point night to lead all scorers. The Beaver Dam native made 158 career three-pointers, placing fifth all-time in school history. Lopez recorded a season-high 16 points, going 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from the three-point line. Neale scored 13 points in his final game for the Eagles. Also completing their careers were Dylan Rusch who finished with six points, and Joe Klocek and Matt Savatski who had three points each. Edgewood College went 10-25 from the three-point line, but just 5-for-9 at the free throw line. Derek Braucht also closed out his Edgewood College career.
Aurora had five players in double figures, led by Stokes with 19 points and Brandon Smith with 13 points. The Spartans went 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point line and committed just nine turnovers to secure their place in the NACC Tournament Championship game.
The Eagles 14-13 record gives third-year head coach Justin Meyer his first career winning season. Edgewood College has advanced to at least the semifinals of the NACC Tournament in four of the last five seasons, including three championship game appearances.
