MADISON – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad opened 2023 Tuesday evening with a home matchup. They returned to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play against the Benedictine Eagles. Edgewood College (1-12, 1-5 NACC) put forth a valiant second half effort but fell short against the Benedictine Eagles (5-8, 3-3).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Benedictine jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the first half and never trailed in the first 20 minutes. Edgewood College would keep close for the first 10 minutes and trailed only 18-15 at 10:04. An 11-1 Benedictine rally would give the opposition breathing room at 30-17 with 6:03 remaining in the half. Benedictine's largest lead of the half came at 3:37 at 32-19. The two squads entered the locker room with Benedictine holding a 39-26 advantage.

- Edgewood College's shooting woes continued in the first frame, as they shot 30.3 (10-of-33) from the field. Benedictine made a lot of their progress off turnovers, outscoring Edgewood College 18-8 off turnovers and having eight steals in the half.

- Benedictine quickly tacked more onto their lead in the first three minutes of the second frame as they built up to a 48-31 gap at 17:16. Edgewood College hung on for the next 11 minutes of play, as Benedictine would never lead by more than 17 but Edgewood College struggled to break within striking distance.

- A 9-4 rally would prove to be Edgewood College's last best chance, with a team effort from all parts of the floor cutting the Benedictine lead to 69-64. Missed shots and turnovers would doom Edgewood College, as Benedictine would shut the door with free throws fueling a 9-3 run to close out the game.

- Jake Schroeckenthaler continued to shine with a team-high 17 points, 15 rebounds and a trio of blocks. Cade Ellingson and Drew Houtakker both finished with double-digit points, tallying 15 and 12 respectively. Ellingson proved to be efficient with 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

- Benedictine would finish the game with an 18-8 edge in points off turnovers and a 13-0 gap in fast break points. Neither team shot well from beyond the arc, with Edgewood College finishing with 31.8 (7-of-22) percent shooting and Benedictine 23.1 (3-of-13) percent.

- Two from Benedictine finished with double-doubles, Cullen Cosme netting 22 points and 10 rebounds while Andrew Stokes had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Benedictine finished with 11 steals.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Schroeckenthaler's double-double was his third in a row and sixth overall on the season.

- Edgewood College has lost seven-straight and is winless at home this season.

- Benedictine's victory cut Edgewood College's lead in the series down to 16-15 since 2004-05.

UP NEXT
Edgewood College hits the road once more for another NACC matchup on Saturday. They travel to MSOE with first tip scheduled for 1:00 p.m. MSOE holds the series lead 53-26 and won the last matchup against Edgewood College back in 2021-22.