Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – In their final tune-up before the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament, the Edgewood College men's basketball team took on Concordia University Chicago in a NAC Challenge Game. The Eagles came out on fire, scoring the first 13 points of the game behind solid three-point shooting from Ben Wisniewski and Kent Faurote. From there, the Eagles held the Cougars at arm's length en route to the 74-62 victory.

Wisniewski connected on his first two shots before Faurote drilled his first of two triples on the 13-0 run to start the game. After a Derek Nkemnji layup, Faurote forced a Cougar timeout with his other three-point basket. Coming out of the timeout, Cole Reindl got the Cougars (10-15) on the board with a three-point basket.

Leading 29-20 with just more than nine minutes left in the first half, the Eagles (19-6) went on another run. Dylan Rusch started the 8-0 spurt with his only basket of the game, a triple. Michael Janusek then made a jumper and Wisniewski gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game, 37-20 when he converted a three-point play with more than five minutes left in the first half.

However, Concordia Chicago answered with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to seven at 37-30 after an Issa Avery three-point basket with 3:31 left. Edgewood College had and answer, however, as the y closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 43-32 lead at the break.

Edgewood College made 14 of their first 17 shots and ended the half with a 65.2 field goal percentage (15-for-23). The Cougars almost matched the Eagles, shooting 60.0 percent (12-for-12) in the first stanza.

The Eagles extended their lead to 14 points twice early in the second half, and led 53-42 when the Cougars tried to comeback. Charles Gordon made a layup and Joe Pearson converted a three-point play to bring Concordia Chicago within 53-47 with more than 11 minutes left.

Gordon again cut the deficit to six with 8:55 to go, but Justin Williams sparked a 7-0 with a pair of free throws. Faurote then made a jump shot and Jake Guziewski extended the lead back to 10 points at 62-52 with one of his three triples in the game. The lead reached 15 points with 56 seconds left and the Eagles took the game 74-62.

The Cougars shot 55.0 percent (22-for-40) while the Eagles went 25-for-46 or 54.3 percent from the floor. The Eagles shot 45.8 percent (10-for-24) from long range, making 10 triples in a game for the third this season. Concordia Chicago went 7-for-16 from deep for a 43.8 percentage.

Wisniewski led the Eagles with 20 points, 18 coming in the first half. Faurote followed with 15 points and Williams marked the third Eagle in double figures with 10 points. Guziewski scored nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. Nkemnji led the Eagles with five assists while Faurote grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Al Kahlfeldt was the only Cougar in double figures with 12 points while Avery grabbed a game-high six rebounds.

The Eagles are the third seed in the NAC Tournament and will host sixth seeded Rockford College on Tuesday night at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Edgewood College will provide live video and live stats for the 7:00 p.m. tipoff. The links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.