SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Going into Tuesday night's game, the Edgewood College men's basketball team knew they would have to take advantage of every opportunity. The Eagles started well and led Lakeland College at the break 37-36, but could not silent the hot-shooting Muskies and fell 79-65.
Joe Klocek got the game rolling with the first basket of the game and Edgewood College (1-4, 0-1 NAC) grabbed the early lead. Lakeland College used a 9-2 later in the period to grab a 16-10 advantage, but from there, the difference only grew smaller. Three straight buckets byJustin Williams, Cashton Craig, and Trevor Nealetied the game at 25 the two teams traded scores back-and-forth the rest of the half. With two minutes to play, Brett Meinecke drove the lane and dished to an open Dillon Gilpatrick who cashed in on the easy layup. A Lakeland (3-0, 1-0 NAC) three-pointer cut the Eagles lead to one, but Edgewood College still headed into the locker room with an advantage.
Craig scored the Eagles' first eight points of the second period as the two teams were tied at 45 with just under 16 minutes to play. Lakeland jumped out ahead and saw their lead grow to eight before the Eagles cashed in on three straight posessions to cut the Muskies' lead to three. From there on out, Lakeland took control and finished the game on a 16-5 run to seal the victory.
Although the Muskies shot 51.9 percent in the first half, the Eagles held Northern Athletics Conference leading scorer Jake Schwarz scoreless. In the second half, Lakeland outscored Edgewood College 43-28 thanks to Schwarz unleashing for all of his 23 points in the second half.
Craig led the Eagles with 17 points followed by Michael Janusek who poured in a career high 15 on 4-for-6 shooting including a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Both guards drained three shots from beyond the arc. Klocek was strong on the glass pulling down a team high seven boards.
Edgewood College will face Aurora University this Saturday in the Eagles' home opener. The game is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. following the women's game at 2:00 p.m. at the annual Jam the Gym celebration. Live stats and live video will be provided. These links can be found at EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.