CHICAGO – A 19-2 run midway through the opening half put the Edgewood College Men's Basketball team in a hole it couldn't crawl out of Wednesday night in a NACC road game at Illinois Tech. The Scarlet Hawks used that run to down Edgewood College, 69-55, dropping the Eagles league record to 8-8.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The score was 10-10 after Emil Radisevic hit a 3-pointer just 3:24 into play. That is when the Scarlet Hawks posted the 19-2 run, going up 29-12 with 5:36 left in the opening half. Edgewood College would close the half strong, cutting the Illinois Tech lead to nine (34-25) as Ben Seefeld closed the half with a 3-pointer.

- The Eagles (8-13, 8-8 NACC) couldn't get much to fall in the first 20 minutes, shooting just 29 percent (9-for-31) from the floor, including going 3-of-14 from 3-point range. The Scarlet Hawks, meanwhile, shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range in building the nine-point lead. Seefeld led the Eagles with six points at the break, knocking down 2-of-3 from deep.

- The late first-half run did not carry over into the second half for Edgewood College as the Scarlet Hawks quickly pushed the lead up to 15 just 1:54 into the half. The lead remained in double figures until the 3:57 mark when a pair of Jake Negus free throws cut the Illinois Tech advantage to eight (63-55). Unfortunately, the Scarlet Hawks scored the final six points of the night, resulting in the 69-55 final.

- Negus finished the night with 14 points to pace the Eagles, while Seefeld chipped in with 11. McClain Steffens added eight points and five rebounds and Matthew Myers added seven points off the bench for Edgewood College.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The loss drops the Eagles to 8-8 in league play where they sit in a tie for sixth with Aurora. The top six teams qualify for the NACC Tournament, but as of today, both Aurora and Edgewood College would be in as a result of Benedictine being ineligible for the 2019 NACC Tournament. The Eagles have four games remaining and are one game in the loss column above Lakeland and Wisconsin Lutheran.

THE OPPOSITION
- Illinois Tech was balanced in picking up the win with five players scoring at least 12 points, but not one of those scoring more than 14. Calvin Schmitz led the Scarlet Hawks with 14 with Otis Reale adding 13.

- Mix Hisatake, Jake Digiorgio, and Milos Dugalic each scored 12 points with Hisatake (15 rebounds) and Digiorgio (11) each recording double-doubles.

UP NEXT
- The Eagles will begin a three-game home stretch Saturday when they welcome Rockford to the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The game, which will be Senior Day, will be the second part of a women's/men's doubleheader and is set to start at 4:15 p.m. The women's game is slated for a 2 p.m. start.