MADISON, Wis. – Eli Hartjes posted his second-consecutive 30-point game as the Edgewood College Men's Basketball team held on for an 82-79 non-conference win over the University of Chicago Saturday. The Eagles made their last four free throws down the stretch and received an outstanding effort from the starting five in their second-straight win.
Hartjes Interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn4a_XG6u-I
EAGLES 82, MAROONS 79
- The Eagles (2-5) led throughout the entire second half, including a game-high 15-point advantage (51-36) with 15:09 left in the second half. Chicago (4-4) starting cutting into the lead and got within three (76-73) with 1:27 left on the clock.
- The Eagles set up a play out of a Chicago timeout, which resulted in Jake Schroeckenthaler fighting through contact for a layup to push the lead back to five. The Maroons answered back with a Ryan Martin layup, and got within two at 78-76 on a made free throw by Elliot Paschal with 20 seconds left. Eli Hartjes then calmly knocked down two free throws for the Eagles with 15 seconds left to push the lead back up to four.
- Chicago fought back once again as Bryce Hopkins was fouled with eight seconds remaining. Hopkins missed both free throws but got his own rebound off the second miss and responded with an old fashioned 3-point play to make the score 80-79. That is where Dawson Hughes scored the first bench points of the day for Edgewood College, knocking down two free throw with 4.8 left and Hopkins 3-point shot at the buzzer missed to give Edgewood College its second-straight win.
- The Eagles starting five scored the first 80 points of the game for the Eagles until Hughes free throws to help seal it. After scoring a career-high 35 last weekend against Wisconsin Lutheran, Hartjes poured in 30 on 12-of-14 shooting, while adding 10 rebounds for another double-double. Jake Schroeckenthaler was 7-for-13 from the floor, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Avery Lyons scored 16 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
- Edgewood College played like a team who knows its identity, attempting just six 3-point attempts. The key was the Eagles made three of those. In the first half, the Eagles shot just one from distance, which came as the buzzer sounded before halftime.
- Caden Nelson and Adam Baierl added to the starting five's 80-point effort with eight points each. Nelson dished out five assists and did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes of action.
- In relying on getting the ball inside and getting quality looks, the Eagles finished the game shooting 58.5 percent (31-for-53) from the floor. Chicago, meanwhile, attempted 24 3-point attempts and made just five of those (20.8 percent) and ended the game 26-for-63 (41.3 percent) from the field. The two teams combined for 57 free throw attempts, the Eagles making 17-of-26 and the Maroons knocking down 22-of-31.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Eagles have shot over 50 percent in back-to-back games now, both wins. Also, Edgewood College has attempted just seven 10 3-point shots over those two wins, but has made three from downtown in each game. The shot quality and offensive performance has been impressive over the last week.
- This was the first meeting between the two programs since the 2009-10 season and Edgewood College broke a 2-2 tie with the win Saturday. The Eagles have won the last three in the series.
UP NEXT
- Edgewood College will conclude the 3-game home stretch Wednesday with a NACC tilt against Rockford. Action from the Todd Wehr Edgedome is set to start at 7 p.m.