MADISON, WISC. - Long-time rivals Madison College and Western Technical College played in their historic 100th all-time meeting on Wednesday night at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium, and the WolfPack continued their dominance of the head-to-head series with a 90-77 win. The 'Pack is now 67-33 against the Cavaliers in a rivalry that dates back to 1970. The win is the fifth consecutive against WTC and also snapped a current two game losing skid.

Western Tech owned the lead for most of the first half and ran it to as high as a ten-point differential at 30-20 with eight minutes and 30 second remaining, but the WolfPack closed the half with an 18-8 run to pull even at the break. The push began with consecutive buckets from forward Mark Simmons, and peaked when sophomore Alex Easterday hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game.Opposite of the first half, Madison College controlled the lead for most of the second half before the Cavaliers (4-3) rallied to tie it up at 73-all with 3:45 left in the game. From that moment on, it was all Madison College as Easterday knocked down his fifth triple of the night to trigger a clutch 13-0 surge that was part of a bigger 17-4 closing stretch.

For the third straight game, freshman Adam Anhold surpassed the 20-point plateau with 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting, including a thunderous first half dunk off an assist from Jalen Addison, and a 5 for 7 performance at the free throw line. The former Janesville Craig High School standout also led the 'Pack with nine rebounds to just miss his third double-double. 

While Anhold controlled the painted area, sophomore Alex Easterday had the hot touch from outside. The Elkhorn, Wisconsin, native entered the game with only nine 3-pointers on 28 attempts, but converted 5 of 6 in the game for 15 points. He also had eight rebounds and matched fellow second year Nathaniel Buss with a team-best five assists, while coming up with two steals and one block.



Transfer guard Jalen Addison did most of his damage at the free throw line to help seal the late win, going 9 for 10 at the stripe and 4 for 11 from the field to register 17 points. Addison scored 15 points in the second half. For the second straight game, Alex Berg reached double-digit scoring with 14 points. The Madison La Follette High School grad was 6 for 9 from the floor with a pair of free throws and eight rebounds while making his career start. He also matched Buss for the team lead with four steals.

The WolfPack posted their second best shooting effort of the season as they hit 55.2% of their shots, going 32 for 58 overall and 8 for 22 beyond the arc. It was also their second best free throw performance of the season with an 18 for 23 showing that was good for 78.3%. Western Tech relied heavily on their outside game, knocking down 13 triples on 38 attempts (34.2%) as part of a 38.9% (28-72) shooting effort. The visitors also posted a 8 for 10 number at the stripe. Madison College finished with a 43-32 edge in total rebounds, a 44-30 differential in points in the paint, and a narrow 17-15 lead in points off turnovers despite committing five more miscues than WTC. 

Up Next:

Madison College (4-6) plays game two of a three-game homestand on Monday, December 10 when they host former conference rival UW-Waukesha (5-3). The WolfPack are 27-12 all-time against the Cougars and have not played them since 2015. Game time at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.

Follow WolfPack men's basketball: Facebook | Twitter