Concordia Wisconsin slides past Edgewood College on Senior Night

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MADISON, Wis. - It wasn't a postseason game, but both teams sure played like it was. With a playoff-like intensity in the Todd Wehr Edgedome, Concordia University Wisconsin completed an undefeated Northern Athletics Conference schedule with a 71-66 victory over Edgewood College on Tuesday night. The game between the top two teams in the NAC North Division featured eight ties and 12 lead changes.

Early on, 25th-ranked Concordia University Wisconsin (21-3, 16-0 NAC) had the look of a team on the verge of a blowout. The Falcons got 11 quick points from Edward Newton-Kemp and made seven of their first nine shots on the way to a 17-6 lead just over minutes into the game. However, as quickly as Concordia Wisconsin gained their lead, Edgewood College (16-8, 12-4 NAC) snatched it back. Cashton Craig and Michael Janusek drilled three-point baskets, followed shortly after by Kent Faurote's seven straight points. The last bucket by Faurote, a three-pointer, gave the Eagles a stunning 15-0 run and a 25-21 lead. The Falcons took a 36-34 lead into the locker room, when Newton-Kemp converted an Eagle turnover into a fastbreak layup at the buzzer.

The Falcons tried to gain control in the first four minutes of the second half with Newton-Kemp converting a three-point play to gain a 44-38 lead, but back-to-back three-point baskets by Faurote and Craig would put the Eagles back in front. From that point on, neither team led by more than four points until the final 30 seconds of the game.

Derek Nkemnji electrified the crowd with a dunk off a backdoor pass from Jake Guziewski and Faurote followed with a three-point play to give Edgewood College a 61-60 lead with 6:48 left to play. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that would represent their last lead of the game. Concordia Wisconsin's Luke Doedens and Newton-Kemp answered with a pair of three-point baskets, and the forced misses on the Eagles' next five field goal attempts to gain a 70-64 lead with 28 seconds to go and send the Eagles to their fourth conference loss of the season.

Tuesday's game was senior night for Edgewood College forward Jeff Barczak and he didn't disappoint scoring 16 points of 7-for-11 shooting. Faurote led the Eagles with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Nkemnji added 12 points. Craig dished out a team-high five assists to go with eight points. Edgewood College outshot Concordia Wisconsin by hitting 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field, but the Falcons hit eight three-pointers to the Eagles six and grabbed five more offensive rebounds.

Concordia University Wisconsin was led by Newton-Kemp who scored 25 points, including four three-point baskets. Cory Stark went 11-for-14 from the field and finished with 23 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Doedens was the only other Falcon in double figures with 12 points.

Edgewood College still has to wait to know who their NAC Challenge Game opponent will be and where their next game will be played. The Eagles will play the second-seeded team from the NAC South Division, but the final standings hinge on Benedictine University's game against Concordia University Chicago on Thursday. If Benedictine defeats Concordia Chicago they will win the division outright and push MSOE into second place. In that case, Edgewood College would travel to MSOE for the NAC Challenge game on Saturday at a time to be announced. If Benedictine should lose, MSOE would claim the top seed in the NAC South Division on a tiebreaker and Benedictine would travel to Madison for a date with Edgewood College at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Regardless of the outcome of the NAC Challenge Game, Edgewood College will be home for a Northern Athletics Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Wednesday, February 23 at 7:00 p.m. against either Aurora University of Lakeland College. All home games can be seen live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.