Box Score
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – If anyone watched this season's previous meetings between the Edgewood College and MSOE men's basketball teams, they knew Saturday's NACC Tournament Quarterfinal would be no blowout. The seventh seeded Eagles had four players reach double figures and kept the Raiders without a basket in the final 1:46 to upend No. 2 MSOE 76-70 at the Kern Center.
The Eagles (12-14) could not have asked for a better start from the tip as they stormed to a 12-4 lead in the first three and a half minutes, capped by a three-pointer by Tal Diekvoss. The Raiders rallied back to take their first lead with 9:35 left in the half on a pair of free throws by Connor Patterson. Over the next five minutes, neither team would gain an advantage larger than a point until an Emilio Lopez put Edgewood College up a pair with 4:01 on the clock. The teams earned their fifth tie with 90 seconds left in the half before MSOE (21-5) scored consecutive buckets to go up 37-33 at the break.
Just as Edgewood College started the game hot, the Raiders stormed to a nine-point advantage to begin the second. Diekvoss, Dylan Rusch, andJustin Williams scored eight straight for the Eagles to pull back within one before MSOE moved out to another seven-point lead. The Eagles did not back down, however, and Joe Klocek helped a 10-3 Edgewood College run with four free throws for the game's seventh tie. The two continued to trade baskets back and forth down the stretch until Williams took over down low. The senior scored a layup and a pair of free thows, keeping Edgewood College knotted 70-70 with 1:20 left. After MSOE's John Cording missed two free throws, Rusch put the Eagles up a pair with a layup in the paint. Edgewood College forced a turnover and the Raiders were forced to foul. Rush hit two out of three free throws and Dylan Heemstra added another two with less than 20 seconds left as the Eagles pulled out a 76-70 upset over the home team.
Williams led four players in double figures with 21 on 8-for-13 shooting off the bench. Diekvoss, Rusch, and Klocek each chipped in 14 apiece. Diekvoss hit four of the Eagles' eight triples. Edgewood College shot 50.0 percent from the field and hit 57.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Edgewood College advanced to the NACC Tournament Semifinals to face No. 3 Lakeland College in Plymouth on Wednesday, February 26. Live video and stats will be available on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.