Box Score
WATERTOWN, Wis. - When the shots wouldn't fall, the Edgewood College men's basketball team needed their defense to bail them out. That and a heavy dose of Kent Faurote made sure the Eagles survived the short trip down I-94 in a tense 57-55 victory over Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Faurote scored a career-high 26 points and drilled the game-winner three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining for the Eagles who won their fourth straight game.
Faurote, a junior from Cassville, scored the Edgewood College's first two baskets of the game for a 4-2 lead, but the Eagles wouldn't lead again until there was less than four minutes remaining in the game. Maranatha Baptist (5-9, 1-6 NAC) led by as many as nine points at 44-35 with 9:26 remaining in the game. Edgewood College rallied back with a 15-5 run capped by a three-point play by Ben Wisniewski to grab a 50-49 lead, but the Crusaders' Joel Borchardt answered with his own three-point play to put Maranatha back in front.
From that point on Faurote stole the show. He tied the game at 52 with a layup only to watch the Crusaders score the next three points at the free throw line for a 55-52 lead with 1:22 to play. Maranatha Baptist's Kyle Kutz fouled Faurote and he made both his free throws to cut the margin to one point. After Brendan Brown missed a shot, Edgewood College (11-5, 7-1 NAC) called timeout to set up the game winner. Faurote took a pass from Cashton Craig and buried a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to give the Eagles a 57-55 lead. The Crusaders held for the final shot, but Josh Stein's attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Faurote piled up 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting and 8-for-10 from the free throw line, topping his previous career-high of 24 points set last season against Northwestern College (Minn.). Wisniewski finished with nine points, snapping a streak of 10 straight games in double figures. Derek Nkemnji scored eight points on 4-for-6 shooting, while Craig six points and had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Eagles shot 41.9 percent from the field, but controlled the ball well, committing only three turnovers, the lowest total ever by a Todd Adrian coached team. By holding Maranatha Baptist to 55 points, the Eagles have now held their opponents to 60 points or fewer in their last four games, all Eagle victories.
The win allowed the Eagles to keep pace with Thursday's opponent, Concordia University Wisconsin, who improved to 9-0 in the Northern Athletics Conference with a victory over Lakeland College. Edgewood College's game at Mequon can be seen live courtesy of Concordia University Wisconsin. The link to the broadcast is available on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.