MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad opened their 2022-2023 Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) slate Tuesday evening. They played host to the Concordia Chicago Cougars at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The Eagles (0-5, 0-1 NACC) mounted a furious comeback in the second half, but the Cougars (5-0, 2-0) escaped with a 79-78 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Concordia Chicago jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first 2:51 of play, but Edgewood College battled back with a 7-2 run including a Trey Traeder three to take a 9-8 edge. The high-flying Cougars would chip away at the Eagles advantage, reclaiming the lead at 11:58 at 15-14. A pair of Jake Schroeckenthaler buckets in the paint would put Edgewood College back in the lead at 18-15 with 10:35 left.

- Concordia Chicago would dominate the remainder of the first half, launching a furious 20-5 rally to take a 35-23 lead with 3:47 left. The Cougars would go into the locker room leading the Eagles 43-28.

- Concordia Chicago shot 64 percent (16-of-25) from the field and 57.14 (4-of-7) from beyond the arc in the half.

- The Cougars would hold onto their advantage through the first five minutes of the second frame, holding a 58-39 lead with 15:20 on the clock. The Eagles found their momentum and shots, a 14-4 run cutting the lead down to just 65-63 with 6:16 to play, and would reclaim the lead at 3:50 after a 6-2 burst fueled by layups.

- Edgewood College would lead 73-69 at 2:38, but a 8-0 Concordia Chicago run put them firmly in the drivers seat with a 77-73 advantage with just :21 left. Clutch free throws by the Cougars would close out the game, though Schroeckenthaler sunk a three-pointer with a tick left to go down swinging.

- The Eagles shot 54.29 (19-of-35) percent from the field in the second half as their comeback fell just short. Concordia Chicago sunk 71.4 (20-of-28) percent of their free throws. Edgewood College won the second-chance points battle 11-2, but the Cougars almost matched the advantage with a 10-2 tally in fast break points.

- Schroeckenthaler finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double and tacked on a pair of steals.

- Traeder earned 21 points, while Drew Houtakker rounded out the double-digit Eagles with 12 and had the second-most rebounds on the squad with five.

- Four from Concordia Chicago finished in double-digits, with Jacob Collicott and Brent Hatten each posting 20 points. Jordan Matthews had 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Traeder's 21 points was a career high in his Edgewood College career.

- The Cougars have won three straight against the Eagles, with Edgewood College holding onto the series lead since 2001-02 at 23-9.

UP NEXT
The Eagles ring in December with their first NACC road match of the season. They play at Wisconsin Lutheran this Saturday with first tip scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Edgewood College leads the series since 1987-88 42-29 with the two squads each winning at home last season.