GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Edgewood College men's basketball team hung tough with NCAA Division I UW-Green Bay, before eventually falling 78-55 in a season opening exhibition game at the Resch Center. Junior Ben Wisniewski scored 17 points to lead the Eagles.

UW-Green Bay opened the game with a 7-1 lead before Edgewood College rallied to take the lead. Junior Ben Wisniewski sparked a 6-0 run with a layup in the paint. Wisniewski than picked off a Phoenix pass and fed Jeff Barczak who was fouled on the fastbreak and converted two free throws. Tony Cates completed the run with a layup off an assist from Wisniewski, as the Eagles took an 18-17 lead with 6:43 left in the first half.

However, the Phoenix scored the next eight points to grab a 25-18 lead. Kent Faurote scored a bucket and Wisniewski added a three-pointer to cut the lead to 25-23, but UW-Green Bay scored the final 12 points of the half for a 37-23 advantage at the break.

Edgewood College scored the first four points of the second half on two free throws by Wisniewski and a jumper by Michael Gehring. UW-Green Bay, then went on a 16-2 run to extend the margin to 53-29 with 13:07 to play in the game. The Eagles answered with eight straight points on a three-point basket by Cash Craig, a basket and a free throw by Wisniewski and a bucket from Barczak.

Freshman Mitch Sperka drilled a three-point basket with 56 seconds to cut the deficit to 75-55, but the Phoenix answered with a three-point basket to take the contest 78-55.

Wisniewski tallied a game-high 17 points while Faurote was the only other Eagle to reach double figures with 10 points. Barczak grabbed a team-high six rebounds and Derek Nkemnji dished out four assists.

The Eagles will open the regular season on Monday night when they host Loras College at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Edgewood College will provide live video and live stats for the 7:45 p.m. tip-off. Both links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.