A day removed from a heartbreaking overtime loss to the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks on Thanksgiving, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team was back on the court in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday.
Taking on a USC team with a 4-2 overall record, the Badgers would manage to win a back-and-forth game highlighted by 10 lead changes.
Here is a look back at Wisconsin’s 64-59 win to secure third place in the Bahamas.
After forcing a USC shot clock violation on the opening possession of the game, the Badgers got on the scoreboard first with a three-pointer by Chucky Hepburn.
The Trojans would respond with a pair of made threes of their own from Drew Peterson, a former Wisconsin recruiting target who began his career at Rice. Hepburn would deliver with his second three of the game with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half to tie the game up at six points apiece.
Over the next three minutes, Tyler Wahl would lead the charge for Wisconsin with back-to-back buckets, but USC star Boogie Ellis would connect on a pair of threes to help give the Trojans a 16-10 advantage at the first media timeout.
Coming out of the brief break, Wisconsin center Steven Crowl banked in a three-pointer, and then Connor Essegian drilled an open three to make things even, 16-16, at the 11:47 mark of the first half.
After a free throw by the Trojans, Jordan Davis would respond with a three to give the Badgers the lead and snap a three-point drought for the junior starter. However, USC would open up a 7-0 run in the next minute of play to regain a 24-19, before Chucky Hepburn made his third three of the game to cut the deficit to only two points with 7:44 remaining.
Some uncharacteristic turnovers by Wisconsin would allow USC to add to their lead, making it a 30-24 game just three minutes later.
But it didn’t take long for Jordan Davis to go on a personal 5-0 run to help guide the Badgers right back into the game. He began the run with an and-one off an assist from Steven Crowl and then came up with a defensive steal on the next possession that led to an easy breakaway layup for the junior.
Coming out of the final media timeout of the first half, a Steven Crowl reverse layup would give Wisconsin a narrow 31-30 lead with three minutes remaining.
Over the final three minutes, the Badgers would continue to add to their lead with an Isaac Lindsey three and a layup by Steven Crowl, before a late Boogie Ellis jumper for USC made it 36-34 at halftime.
Coming out of the intermission, both teams went to work inside, as Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl gave the Badgers a pair of points in the paint, and Kobe Johnson made a contested bucket for USC. Johnson, a Wisconsin native, would then proceed to hit a three-pointer to give the Trojans a quick 41-40 lead.
USC would head into the first media timeout of the half on an 8-0 run, and a 44-40 advantage, as Wisconsin missed six shots in a row.
Free throws by Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl would end a scoreless drought for the Badgers, and pull Wisconsin back within two points with 14 minutes remaining.
After a floater by Tre White for USC, Connor Essegian would deliver a big three-point make to make it a 46-45 game at the next media timeout, and snap a streak of 10 consecutive misses for Wisconsin.
Coming out of the timeout, Connor Essegian and Drew Peterson would trade three-point makes before Steven Crowl found a cutting Tyler Wahl for an and-one to knot the game up at 51-51 with 7:24 to play.
Peterson and Essegian would continue to take part in a three-point challenge over the next two minutes, before back-to-back twos by Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl would give the Badgers a 58-57 lead, and force a USC timeout with 4:15 to go.
A Tyler Wahl jumper out of the timeout would extend Wisconsin’s lead to three with 1:45 remaining in the game.
A late floater from Chucky Hepburn and a jumper by Boogie Ellis would keep it at a three-point edge for the Badgers with 20 seconds left. From there, Chucky Hepburn came up with the play of the game, stealing the ball from USC finishing with a layup on the other end to close out the game and give Wisconsin a 64-59 victory.
Stats: 17 points (7-of-13 shooting), four assists, and two steals in 31 minutes
Coming into the game shooting just 29% from three-point range, starting point guard Chucky Hepburn put together a big game from beyond the arc for Wisconsin on Friday with a trio of threes.
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The sophomore also came up with a heady steal at the end of the game to seal it for Wisconsin, and he also dished out four assists. After a slow start to the season, Hepburn had a fantastic game on Friday.
Stats: 14 points (6-of-12 shooting), nine rebounds, and three assists in 35 minutes
Tyler Wahl once again delivered for the Badgers. He almost had another double-double with nine rebounds, and he provided the team with great defense and timely scoring on Friday.
Stats: 12 points (4-of-8 shooting), four rebounds, and a steal in 25 minutes
Connor Essegian capped off a tremendous Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with another strong performance against USC in the third-place game.
When the Badgers needed a jolt of energy midway through the second half, Essegian responded with three triples and he also came away with several tough rebounds. The young freshman continues to show his value and his confidence on the defensive end is rising. He finished the game with a team-high four threes.
Stats: 8 points (3-of-5 shooting), three rebounds, and a steal in 25 minutes
Jordan Davis found his rhythm against USC. After struggling against Kansas, Davis came up big for the Badgers with eight first-half points, five of which came in a matter of a minute. Davis also crashed the glass with three rebounds on Friday. While he didn’t do much in the second half, it was nice to see the junior put together a better performance against the Trojans.
Stats: 17 points (6-of-15 shooting), 10 rebounds, and three assists in 32 minutes
Drew Peterson was on fire from three-point range on Friday. The USC guard hit five threes in the game and finished the game with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Wisconsin and USC came into this game as poor three-point shooting teams, but both squads found early success from deep in the first half. The Trojans were 6-of-13 from three, while the Badgers were 7-of-16 from long range in the first 20 minutes. Wisconsin was a bit more turnover prone in the first half, and USC took advantage with 12 points off turnovers.
In the second half, the Badgers did a much better job of taking care of the basketball with only three turnovers. Connor Essegian would deliver critical threes to turn the tide back in favor of the Badgers midway through the second half as Wisconsin struggled early on, but Chucky Hepburn was the story. The sophomore guard came up big when Greg Gard needed him.
Overall, there were seven ties and 10 lead changes in the game, providing plenty of excitement. In the end, Wisconsin did enough late to come away with the win, and a third-place finish in the tournament.
All things considered, the Badgers played well in all three games and their performance should only help build their confidence level for the rest of the regular season.
Wisconsin will be back in action on Tuesday, November 29, for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. As part of the annual event, Wisconsin will welcome the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to the Kohl Center for an 8 p.m. tip. The game will be aired on ESPNU.
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