MADISON, Wis. -The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad hosted the Dubuque Spartans Wednesday evening for their season opener at the Edgedome. The Eagles (0-1) hung tough with the Spartans (2-1), who were receiving votes in the preseason d3hoops.com poll, but timely shooting down the stretch gave the road squad an 82-71 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Edgewood College led for the first five minutes of play, with their 8-6 lead supported by a pair of Jake Schroeckenthaler layups. Dubuque took a 9-8 lead off of a pair of free throws at 15:02 and turned it into a 10-0 run.

- The Spartans would hold the Eagles at bay for most of the next ten minutes of play and held a 41-29 lead with just over a minute remaining in the half. Edgewood College would take some momentum into the locker room with a 5-1 rally to close out the frame, with a Schroeckenthaler layup and a Trey Traeder three putting the halftime tally at 42-34 in Dubuque's favor.

- The Spartans shot 50% (3-of-6) from the three-point line, while the Eagles shot 16.67% (1-of-6) from the three-point arch in the first half. Dubuque would finish with a 35.7% three-point percentage (5-of-14) while Edgewood College ended up with a 20% (3-of-15) percentage from beyond the arc.

- The Eagles spent the first half of the second frame chipping away at the Spartans lead, but frustrating misses by Edgewood College kept the Dubuque lead safe. A 10-4 Spartan run near the end of the first ten minutes of the period put the Eagles behind 66-52, the largest Dubuque lead of the evening.

- Edgewood College had one last try at it, attacking the paint with a 10-2 run to close within six at the 5:53 mark. An 8-2 run by the Spartans effectively closed the door on the Eagles as they led 76-64 with 1:54 remaining.

- Four Edgewood College starters finished with double-digit points. Schroeckenthaler had 26 points and a pair of blocks with a team-high seven rebounds, while Caden Nelson had 12 points and five steals. Traeder had 11 points and a team-leading five assists, while Drew Houtakker had 10 points.

- Dubuque won the rebounding battle 37-26, and shot 82.9% (29-of-35) from the free throw line compared to the Eagles' 66.7% (8-of-12) from the charity stripe. Simon Brock posted a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Spartans.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Houtakker's 10 points and Traeder's 11 were both career highs.

- Dubuque now leads the series 8-1 against Edgewood College dating back to the 08-09 season. They have won back-to-back Eagle season openers.

UP NEXT
Edgewood College will stay home at the Edgedome for another non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon. They host UW-Stevens Point at 2:00 p.m. The Pointers have a 28-3 lead in the series since 1987-88 and have won 15 in a row over the Eagles.