MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad continued their 2023 with a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) road matchup. They played the MSOE Raiders on Saturday. The Eagles (1-13, 1-6 NACC) fell behind in the first half and the deficit proved to be their downfall in a 71-64 loss against the Raiders (8-5, 4-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Edgewood College would have only two buckets at the 12:39 mark as MSOE held onto a 10-4 advantage after a low-scoring opening. The margin wouldn't budge much for the next 10 minutes of play, as the Raiders would lead by no more than eight and no less than three as they sat up 27-19.

- A late first half burst would put the Raiders up 32-19 heading into the locker room. The Eagles were cold from the field, shooting 33.33 (8-of-24) percent while MSOE shot 48.28 (14-of-29) percent).

- The first five minutes of the second half would see the Raiders' lead grow to 16 points as they sat up 43-27 at the 14:48 mark. A pair of Edgewood College threes would cut the lead to 10 at 13:42. MSOE misses and sharp Eagles shooting from all parts of the floor would eventually drop the Raider advantage to 47-41 at 10:41.

- Edgewood College would hang around with MSOE thanks to sharp three-point shooting, a Trey Traeder triple at 3:09 cutting the deficit down to two. The squads would trade two-point buckets before a three pointer by Jess Hartmann at 1:46 gave the Raiders a 63-58 edge. The Eagles closed within two at :47 but were forced to foul, and a late three from Cade Ellingson at :16 would prove for naught as MSOE sank their remaining free throws.

- Jake Schroeckenthaler and Adam Baierl led Edgewood College with 16 and 15 points respectively. Schroeckenthaler also led all Eagles with eight rebounds, while Drew Houtakker had seven rebounds and Caden Nelson seven assists.

- Edgewood College's three-point shooting came alive in the second half as they shot 60 (6-of-10) from beyond the arc. They also improved to 53.57 (15-of-28) from the field in their comeback effort.

- Three from the Raiders had double-digit points. Donovan Carter led both squads with 17 points and missed only one shot on the day, finishing 6-of-7 from the field, 4-of-4 from the free throw line, and sank his lone three. Mason Dopirak and Steve Dillard had 12 points each, while Dopirak led both teams with nine rebounds.

- Free throws proved to be a key difference in the loss, with MSOE shooting 89.5 (17-of-19) percent from the charity stripe and the Eagles 50 (9-of-18) percent on theirs.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Baierl's 15 points was his season best.

- Edgewood College has lost eight in a row, their last victory against WLC on December 3, 2022.

- The Raiders now hold a 54-26 lead in the series and has won two straight.

UP NEXT
The Eagles continue their road swing seeking to break their losing streak Tuesday evening. They play another NACC foe in St. Norbert College at De Pere, Wis. First tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in a series the Green Knights lead 9-7 since 1988-89, though Edgewood College won the last matchup.