MADISON – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad continued their four-game homestand Saturday afternoon. They hosted the Lakeland Muskies in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) battle. The Eagles (2-15, 2-8 NACC) roared out to a 21-4 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back on route to a 86-74 victory over the Muskies (9-7, 3-6).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- A three-pointer from Adam Baierl set the tone early for the game and was the difference at the 17:21 mark with Edgewood College holding a 7-4 lead. The Eagles rattled off 14 unanswered that featured three steals and three blocks and attacking from all parts of the court as they took a 21-4 lead at 13:43.

- Edgewood College would lead by as much as 18 in the first half and their lead would never dip below double-digits. The Muskies showed signs of life late in the half, taking advantage of Eagles mistakes to go into the locker room down 41-30 after scoring five points in four seconds of game time.

- Edgewood College dominated the paint in the first half to the tune of 28-10 while holding slight leads in bench points 8-6 and just slightly behind Lakeland in points off turnovers 10-9. The Eagles shot 45 (18-of-40) percent from the floor in the half, while the Muskies shot a cold 27 (10-of-37) percent from the floor.

- Lakeland carried their momentum in the early minutes of the second period, six points from Aiden Polzin helping cap an 11-2 Muskies run that saw them close within 43-36 at 18:54. That would be the closest Lakeland would get. The Muskies shot 48.6 (17-of-35) in the second half, but Edgewood College improved on their shooting with a 51.5 (17-of-33) percent performance.

- Edgewood College would lead by as much as 20 in the second half after an 11-4 run to take a 70-50 lead with 8:15 left. Lakeland would chip away at this total in the end, but the Eagles' shooting prevented them from making any real progress as Edgewood College took an 86-74 victory.



- Jake Schroeckenthaler shined in the victory, earning a double-double with 30 points and 17 rebounds. He tacked on four blocks and a pair of steals.

- Caden Nelson had a team-high seven assists and four steals. Baierl finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Drew Houttaker grabbed 11 points and seven rebounds. Trey Traeder had five assists of his own helping run the Eagles offense.

- Aidan Polzin and Christian Knox led the Muskies in defeat, Polzin with 16 points and Knox 15 points and five assists.

- Edgewood College was dominant on the boards, outrebounding Lakeland 51-39. The bench proved effective as well, outscoring the Muskies 17-13.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The victory snapped a 10-game losing skid for the Eagles that saw multiple close calls, including a one-point loss against Aurora this past Tuesday.

- Schroeckenthaler's double-double was his ninth of the season and he reached the mark at halftime of this game with 16 points and 11 rebounds. His points, rebounds, blocks, and steals were also all season-highs.

- Baierl's 17 points and seven rebounds were season highs.

- The 86 points were the highest point total for Edgewood College this season.

- The Eagles now lead the series against Lakeland 44-30 since the 1988-89 season.

UP NEXT
- Edgewood College looks to build on their victory Tuesday night. They host Illinois Tech at the Todd Wehr Edgedome for their third of four home games in a row. Edgewood College leads the Scarlet Hawks 5-4 since 1992-93, but Illinois Tech won earlier this season 76-71.