MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College men's basketball team assisted on a season-high 70.3 percent of their baskets, but could not escape their second straight loss. The Eagles pulled down 22 offensive rebounds but fell behind early and could not complete their comeback in a 78-70 to Aurora University.
The Spartans pulled ahead quickly, jumping out to a double digit 14-4 lead just seven minutes into the game. Justin Williams cut that deficit to six after a pair of free throws and a jumper in the paint. Later, Dylan Heemstra drained a triple to pull Edgewood College (5-4, 3-3 NACC) within four but eight straight points by Aurora gave the vising Spartans a 30-18 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the half. The teams traded a few buckets back and forth before Williams tipped in a score at the buzzer to bring the Eagles within eight at 39-31.
Edgewood College struggled to score in the early going of the second half, not registering their first field goal until Trevor Neale converted a layup at 15:49. Aurora (7-3, 5-1 NACC) then scored eight of the next ten points for their largest lead of the game, a 17-point advantage. The Spartans maintained that margin until the nine-minute mark when the Eagles began to chip away. Dylan Rusch and Tal Diekvoss hit consecutive triples cutting Aurora's lead to 13 and Neale converted a layup in the paint at 2:44 as Edgewood College saw their deficit in single digits for the first time since the half. Rusch then drained another three to cut the Spartans' advantage to six with 1:10 remaining but Aurora was impressive from the free throw line and sealed the win, going 7-for-8 in the last 62 seconds.
The Spartans turned Edgewood College's 15 turnovers into 23 points while the Eagles only forced seven Aurora miscues. Edgewood College only saw the free throw line nine times compared to Aurora's 17-for-19 performance at the stripe.
Williams led five Eagles in double figures with 13 while also leading the team with 10 boards for his first double-double of the season. Neale had 10 points and nine boards in just 16 minutes while Jake Heuer grabbed five of Edgewood College's season-high 22 offensive rebounds.
The Eagles will look to end their two game skid a week from Saturday as they head to Rockford University on December 21. The 2:00 p.m. game will feature live stats and video.