Jordan Ford may have stole the show for the Saint Mary’s Gaels (1-0 overall) with a game-high 26 points, but Malik Fitts put the final dagger in the Wisconsin Badgers (0-1 overall) Tuesday night.
It was Fitts’ four straight points in overtime that gave the No. 20 Gaels the lead before a free throw by Kyle Bowen extended their lead to 65-63, and the Badgers opened the season with a loss, despite a promising game.
Fitts hit two clutch free throws to cut the Badger lead to one, then sank a layup past junior guard D’Mitrik Trice to give the Gaels the lead for good with one minute to go in the overtime period.
The Badgers started well in overtime, as Trice hit a pull-up two to extend the lead to 63-61, but UW couldn’t quite finish the game.
Before the free throw by Bowen, Greg Gard called Wisconsin’s only timeout in overtime. After he missed his second, the Badgers had to scramble to try and tie, leading to a rushed, deep three by Aleem Ford that missed the mark sinking UW in their opening loss against the Gaels.
It was an unfortunate end for Aleem Ford who forced the game to overtime thanks to an aggressive drive and finish to tie the game up at 54-54 at the end of regulation.
The story though was the other Ford on the court: guard Jordan Ford for Saint Mary’s. The Fulsom, California native finished with 26 points and played all 45 minutes of regulation and overtime for the Gaels.
Despite good defense early from Wisconsin, Ford broke out and started making shots from everywhere, including a couple key threes during a key 11-2 run in the first half to give the Gaels a lead.
The Badgers responded by feeding junior forward Nate Reuvers. The Minnesota native led the Badgers with 22 points and contributed in the paint along with one clutch three for Wisconsin.
While Reuvers played well in the paint, it was clear the Badgers were missing something down low as Saint Mary’s out-rebounded UW 36-28.
The opening loss likely stings for Wisconsin, considering how close they were to getting a resume building win against a team likely to reach the NCAA Tournament, but it still looks to be a good litmus test to see where the Badgers are at before their next big game in two weeks against in-state rivals Marquette.
Wisconsin played a decent game all-around, but the Badgers will likely want to improve its production from the bench. Freshman forward Tyler Wahl was the only non-starter to pick up points, and he only scored two in 12 minutes.
The Badgers will return home Friday, Nov. 8 for their home opener against Eastern Illinois.
