MADISON, Wis. – For most of the first half it appeared that Edgewood College would be protecting a rather large lead against Wisconsin Lutheran, but they were able to show their ability to close out a nail-biter instead in a thriller at the Edgedome Wednesday night. The Eagles led by as many as 15 in the first half but wound up erasing a three-point deficit with under two minutes left and won 83-79 for their second NACC win of the year.
Sy Staver, Spencer Barnes and Adam Freitag had 16 points apiece to help Edgewood College snap a nine-game skid. Emil Radisevic (13 points) and Emilio Lopez (9) also excelled on the offensive end and hit clutch free throws in the final moments to squeak out the victory.
Wisconsin Lutheran's Chase Nowak hit a jumper in the paint to put the Warriors up 79-76 with 1:44 remaining to force an Eagle timeout. Radisevic was fouled on the next possession and calmly buried both shots from the charity stripe to make it a one-point game. After a pair of misses on both ends of the floor, Radisevic hit his eighth and ninth free throws of the night with 46 seconds remaining to go up 80-79.
A Lopez steal on Wisconsin Lutheran's next possession put the senior from Milwaukee, Wis., to the free throw line with 32 seconds left. Lopez buried them both to make it 82-79 Eagles. WLC's Jake Jarnigo, who finished 4-of-21 from the floor on the night, missed a jumper on their next possession and Staver came down with the board.
Edgewood College avoided being fouled until the clock was at 13 seconds, and Barnes hit 1-of-2 to force the Warriors into desperation mode down four points. Jarnigo missed a three with seven seconds left and the ensuing scramble allowed the clock to run out.
The win put a cap on an all-around team effort for Edgewood College. Six Eagles scored at least nine points, with Tyler Westrick picking up nine points off the bench. The Eagles started extremely hot from the field, as they hit their first six three-point attempts—three of which came from Freitag—and led 21-6 less than six minutes into the action.
A 9-0 run to close the first half—which was capped by Staver's Euro step, left-handed lay-in with five seconds left—gave the Eagles a 45-35 lead at the break and they would hold a lead all the way until the 14:46 mark in the second, when the Warriors tied it at 54.
Staver and Radisevic set new career highs in the win while Barnes tied his personal best on the night. Radisevic and Heemstra set career highs with eight rebounds while Staver (5), Lopez (4) and Barnes (3) led the team in assists. The Eagles put together their third-best shooting performance on the year with a 48.1 percent (26-of-54) showing from the floor. They wound up 10-of-20 from beyond the arc as well.
Freshman forward Collin Kennedy carried the Warriors and finished with a career high 33 points on 14-of-26 shooting. Jarnigo finished with 12 while Christian Kennedy had 10.
The Eagles get right back into action with another game at the Edgedome this weekend. They will take on Dominican at 2 pm on Saturday, Jan. 23.
