MADISON, WISC. - A matchup of two in-state foes Wednesday night at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium came down to the final possession, however, a costly turnover by the Madison College men's basketball team allowed Bryant & Stratton College to steal an 84-82 win at the buzzer. The contest featured ten ties and 13 lead changes before the Bobcats defeated the WolfPack for the first time in their brief three-game history, which have been decided by eight total points. The 'Pack concludes a four-game homestand with a 2-2 record and will hit the road this weekend.

Trailing by six with under two minutes remaining, Madison College used back-to-back buckets from freshman forward Adam Anhold to pull within two and then tied the game at 82-82 on sophomore Nathaniel Buss' fast break layup that ended a wild sequence of consecutive turnovers. The WolfPack turned up the defense to force Bryant & Stratton (5-1) into a contested deep three to beat the shot clock, which caromed off the rim and went out of bounds to set up one final possession. Second-year guard Sean Suchomel began to put the final play in motion when his dribble with knocked away and picked up by freshman Chris Thompson, who raced to beat the buzzer and the WolfPack with a game-winning layup. Suchomel's inbounds with a few tenths of a second remaining was deflected to end the game.



The back-and-forth affair saw neither team lead by more than five points in the first half, which closed on a Buss three-pointer at the buzzer to give the WolfPack a 38-36 advantage at the break. The score remained close throughout the second half as Madison College answered the bell every time the Bobcats tried to pull away. Buss hit consecutive triples midway through the half to trim a five-point deficit down to one. Bryant & Statton's biggest lead came a 78-71 and with five minutes and 21 seconds to play. An 11-4 surge over the next four-plus minutes brought the game to the 82-all situation that led to the game's final decisive moments.

Anhold, a former Janesville Craig High School athlete, poured in a career-best 28 points and grabbed a team-high ten rebounds for his second double-double of the season. The 6'8" transfer enjoyed his most efficient performance of the year going 9 for 12 overall with one 3-pointer and making 9 of 11 free throws. He also registered two assists and one block. It's Anhold's first game of 20 or more points and his seventh double-digit scoring effort of the year.



Of the ten 3-pointers registered by the WolfPack, five came from Buss en route to 21 points. The Verona, Wisconsin, native finished 5 for 8 from distance, part of an overall 7 for 14 evening. Buss now owns six double-digit scoring games and two surpassing the 20-point plateau. Eight other members of the WolfPack found their way into the scoring column, including freshman Mark Simmons with a career-high nine points off the bench.

Madison College finished 29 for 63 (46.0%), which included at least ten 3's for the fourth consecutive game as they were 10 of 20 (50%). Bryant & Stratton was slightly worse in both categories as they hit 45% (31-69) from the floor and 40% (12-30) outside the arc. The home team was also plus-four in free throws made, and two points better in points in the paint (36-34) and points off turnovers (10-8). The Bobcats held advantages in total rebounds (46-35), bench scoring (32-19), and second chance points (7-6).

Up Next:

Madison College (3-5) will open the month of December with a road trip to Elgin Community College (5-3) on Saturday, December 1. It's the only road game in an eight-game span from November into December for the WolfPack, whose win over the Spartans last season ended a four-game losing streak in the head-to-head series. Tip off is expected at approximately 3:00 p.m. in Elgin, Illinois.

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