MADISON, WISC. - Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime on Wednesday night worked, as the Madison College men's basketball team erased a five-point halftime deficit and ran away with an 81-69 victory over NJCAA Division I Sauk Valley Community College in the team's 2018-19 home opener at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. The WolfPack took advantage of additional trips to the free throw line and some timely long range shooting as part of a key surge during the second half to snap a three-game losing streak. The win over the Skyhawks is the third in the last five games in the head-to-head series.

Despite early turnovers for both teams, Madison College held the early lead before a 7-0 run put SVCC on top for the first time. The WolfPack weathered the storm and regained the advantage to take a 27-21 lead. However, over the final six minutes of the half, the visitors took control with some outside shooting off the bench to close the half with a 19-8 burst.

The game remained competitive throughout the first ten minutes of the second half, with Madison College chipping away at the deficit. Freshman Adam Anhold hit a pair of free throws as the clock moved until 12 minutes to play to pull the game even at 54-54. Trailing 59-56, the 'Pack began to make their move, scoring 16 of the next 24 points to assume an eight point lead when Sauk Valley (1-3) called a timeout with two minutes and four second remaining. In the end, Madison College outscored the Skyhawks by a 25-10 differential to close out the game.



Of their 28 made field goals and ten 3-pointers, the WolfPack split them perfectly between halves en route to a 44% shooting night. The real difference between the teams came at the charity stripe, where the home team posted a season-high percentage of 78.9% thanks to a 15 for 19 effort that eclipsed the 7 of 10 showing by SVCC. Madison College also held advantages in points off turnovers (15-6), points in the paint (22-14), and second chance points (17-11) in a game that saw six ties and four lead changes.

Sophomore Jalen Addison followed up his career-best 30-point performance on Saturday with a game-high 24-point effort. The former Milwaukee Hamilton High School athlete was 7 of 13 overall with four 3-pointers and a perfect 6 for 6 on the line. He also dished out a team-best four assists. 

First year forward Adam Anhold picked up his first career double-double with 18 points and a team-high ten rebounds. The Janesville, Wisconsin, native also was perfect on six attempts at the charity stripe. Sophomore guards Nathaniel Buss and Sean Suchomel rounded out the double-figure scoring with 16 and ten points, respectively. Buss found his shooting stroke in the second half and matched Addison with four triples, while Suchomel scored nearly all of his points in the first half. Alex Easterday had three points and nine rebounds. 

Up Next: 

Madison College (2-3) plays the second game of a four-game homestand on Saturday, November 17 against NJCAA Division II Carl Sandburg College (4-2). The game will mark just the second meeting all-time between the two programs, with the Chargers claiming a 76-69 decision in Galesburg, Illinois, in the 2015-16 season. Game time is at approximately 3:00 p.m. inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium.

All home Madison College women's basketball games can be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv.

Follow WolfPack men's basketball: Facebook | Twitter