MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Travis Kell continued his scoring tear with 25 points and 10 rebounds and nearly brought the Edgewood College men's basketball team back from a 17-point halftime deficit in a 72-64 defeat at MSOE on Wednesday night. The Eagles (7-13, 7-8 NACC), who are currently one spot out of NACC tournament contention, missed out on pushing their conference record above .500 for the first time this season.
Emil Radisevic added 15 points, including a late 3-pointer that gave the Eagles a fighting chance, and added nine boards off the bench. Sy Staver contributed eight points, four assists, and committed just one turnover in their second single-digit loss to MSOE this season.
Despite a slow start, the Eagles shot 53 percent in the second half to claw their way back. Kell, who helped generate some offensive momentum with a personal 11-point run spanning both halves, accounted for 11 straight Eagle points to pull his squad within six points of the Raiders with 1:24 remaining. That was as close as they would come as MSOE won their third straight in the series by making 12 of their final 13 free throws in the last 84 seconds. The Raiders steady presence at the line negated three 3-pointers by the Eagles, including two by Staver, over that span.
It was an ugly start for the cold shooting Eagles until Radisevic scored their first bucket over five minutes into the game. By then they faced a 12-2 deficit and continued to trail by double digits throughout the first half and a majority of the second. In the opening period, the Eagles allowed MSOE (13-7, 12-4 NACC) to shoot over 60 percent while the Eagle offense mustered a 35 percent mark en route to a 37-20 halftime deficit.
The Eagles ended up outshooting MSOE, 45-44 percent, but couldn't overcome MSOE's 23-for-27 performance (85 percent) at the charity stripe.
Jason Palesse knocked down all eight free throws and finished with a team-high 18 points as MSOE won for the third time in the last four games, all by single digits. Gabe Wear added 15 points and Matthew Kirmse scored 13.
Only must-win games remain for the Eagles as they sit in seventh-place in the conference standings with only the Top-6 qualifying for the NACC tournament. With five games remaining, they will look for the season sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran this Saturday in the Edgedome at 2:00 p.m.
