MADISON, Wis. – Behind Travis Kell's 23 points and 10 rebounds and his contributions to a key 12-1 run that ended the first half, the Edgewood College men's basketball team routed Marian, 83-60, in their biggest win since January 13, 2015.
Kell and Emil Radisevic, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 6 of 10 shooting, took advantage of a Marian defense that was without their best interior player and the NACC's leading rebounder in Alex Manhardt. The Eagles scored 42 of their 83 points in the paint.
Jake Negus contributed a career-high 18 points, including 12 points in a second half blowout, and Ben Seefeld led all reserves with 12 points as the Eagles (2-6, 2-3 NACC) improved to 3-0 in their last three home games against the Sabres (2-6, 2-2 NACC).
After trailing nearly the entire first half, Negus' knocked down a three-pointer with four minutes to go that sparked a 12-1 run to end the period. Kell came alive with seven points on two layups and a trio of free throws en route to a 34-29 halftime advantage and generated momentum that carried over into a prolific second half.
The Eagles shot over 60 percent in the second half (19-for-30 from the floor) and outscored the Sabres, 49-31, after the break. A 3-pointer by Drew Freitag pushed the Eagle advantage to 51-41 with 12 minutes left and would be as close as the Sabres would come the rest of the way as their lead stretched to 25 points with less than two minutes to go.
Both teams combined for 56 free throw attempts in a foul-filled contest with the Eagles finishing 23-for-30 (77 percent) at the charity stripe. Their free throw shooting kept the Eagles in the game early on and keyed the first half run.
The Eagles shot a season-high 55.8 percent from the field and limited the Sabres to under 40 percent from the floor, including 29 percent in the second half. Kelvin Jones shot 4 of 12 and led Marian with 11 points.
Chasing their first win streak of the season, the Eagles head to winless Concordia Chicago (0-4 NACC) next Saturday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m.
