Men's Basketball can't slow down Edgewood

MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College pulled away in the second half of Tuesday night's back and forth game against Concordia University Wisconsin by shooting 50 percent to earn a 78-69 victory inside the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The loss was the third straight for the Falcons.

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference matchup featured seven scoring ties and six lead changes, but CUW's impressive five turnovers and 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers weren't enough to pull out a much needed victory. The Falcons five errors were the lowest since it turned the ball over five times on Feb. 7, 2008, ironically against the Eagles.

The statistics were even and some categories favored the Falcons, however, the Eagles 50 percent shooting was enough to keep them a step ahead. One category EC held a decisive advantage was its 20 assists on 29 field goals, compared to CUW's six assists on 24 field goals.

Junior Bradley Prinsen (Oostburg, Wis.) led three Falcons in double-figures with 13 points, while junior Malcolm Bowers (Germantown, Wis.) and senior Mark Scholz (Greenfield, Wis.) had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Keith Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, Wis.) ended with nine points and six rebounds, and junior Brett Boettcher (New Holstein, Wis.) recorded four points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Dylan Rusch paced the Eagles (2-4, 2-1 NACC) with 16 points and Dylan Heemstra and Trevor Neale each netted 12 points. Jake Heuer added eight points and seven rebounds, while Matt Savatski and Derek Braucht each had a game-high four assists.

The opening 20 minutes of play featured six scoring ties and four lead changes, which saw EC use a 7-0 scoring spurt over the last 2:09 to take a 43-39 lead into the locker room at halftime. CUW held a 7-0 lead in points off turnovers and Prinsen scored 11 of his points.

The Falcons adjusted at halftime and used a 10-5 scoring run during a six minute and 37 second stretch to start the second half and pull ahead by a point, 49-48. Their lead didn't last long, as the Eagles answered with four unanswered points to take the lead for good. CUW stayed within single digits until 1:29 remaining in the game when a Rusch free throw put EC in front by high 10 points.

CUW (1-4, 0-2 NACC) will continue a difficult week with its second game of three on Thursday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Lakeland College inside the R. John Buuck Field House. The contest is the home opener for the Falcons.