Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – It may have taken the Edgewood College men's basketball team most of the first half to work their way back to even with Concordia University Wisconsin, but once the Eagles did, they didn't look back. Edgewood College trailed by one at halftime thanks to hot shooting by the Falcons, nevertheless the Eagle defense clamped down in the second half while continuing their hot shooting. The Eagles eclipsed the 60 percent mark from the field for the second time this season in the 83-69 victory, putting them in sole possession of first place in the Northern Athletics Conference North Division.

Concordia Wisconsin (11-4, 7-2 NAC) came out firing from three-point range as the nation's leader, Luke Doedens made his first two attempts from long range and Brian Jackson hit a triple three minutes into the contest to give the Falcons an early 14-7 advantage. The Falcons extended their lead to 11 points on a Steve Zielinski jumper with just more than 13 minutes left in the first half before the Eagles gradually worked their way back.

Edgewood College (14-3, 8-1 NAC) got within six on a Michael Janusek layup with 11:20 left in the first half before Cashton Craig made it a one possession game at 32-29 with a three-point basket with just under six minutes left in the first half. Ben Wisniewski drilled a three-point basket with 4:03 to go in the first half to tie the game at 34. Craig gave the Eagles their first lead of the game with a layup and Kent Faurote capped a 12-0 Eagle run that put them ahead 38-34 with a jump shot. Mitchell Schneider and Nick Doedens answered with back-to-back triples, giving the lead back to the Falcons. Erik Condia gave the Falcons a 42-41 lead at halftime when he hit a layup with five seconds left.

The Falcons shot 53.1 percent in the first half while the Eagles topped that with a scorching 64.0 percent field goal percentage.

After Concordia Wisconsin scored the first bucket of the second half, Wisniewski tied the game with a triple. The teams then exchanged buckets before the Eagles took the lead for good. Joe Klocek started an 11-0 Eagle spurt with a layup. Janusek capped the run with a layup and his only three-point basket of the game, giving the Eagles a 57-46 lead with just under 15 minutes to go.

The Eagles quickly turned a seven point lead into their largest lead of the night, 15 points. Derek Nkemnji nailed a jump shot to start the 8-0 run and Faurote ended it with a layup to give the Eagles a 65-50 lead with 11:31 left.
However, the Eagles went cold, going 5 minutes and 24 seconds without a field goal while the Falcons tried to comeback. Edgewood College's defense dug in, though, only allowing the Falcons to score 10 points during that stretch, getting as close as 66-60 before Craig ended the drought with a layup.

The Falcons got within five points twice, the last coming with 3:15 to go, but they could not get any closer as Craig drained a three-point basket with 2:08 left to stop the Falcon momentum. Edgewood College then sealed the 83-69 victory at the free throw line.

The Eagle defense held Concordia Wisconsin to a second half field goal percentage of 37.9. In the game, the Falcons shot 45.9 percent from the floor and 28.0 percent from long range. On the offensive end, Edgewood College shot a blistering 61.2 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from three-point range.

Luke Doedens led all scorers with 22 points while Jackson followed with 16 points. Schneider chipped in with 10 points.

Nkemnji led a balanced Eagle scoring attack with 17 points while Wisniewski and Craig each scored 15 points apiece. Faurote scored 13 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Wisniewski became the sixth player in Edgewood College history to reach 1,500 career points. He now has 1,514 points in his career.

The Eagles have nearly a week off before they travel to Marian University on Wednesday night. Tipoff from Sadoff Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.