The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team flirted with a 100-point offensive performance as they beat Houston Baptist University 96–59 at the Kohl Center Saturday.
The home team was never really threatened as the Badgers had a 19-point lead only 10 minutes into the contest which never wavered.
Wisconsin’s big men Ethan Happ and Nate Reuvers led the way early on the offensive end — their dominance inside resulted in 54 points in the paint.
Happ and Reuvers both finished with 15 points, a career-high for Reuvers.
“It’s always fun to score points but I’ve just got to do what this team needs,” Reuvers said. “I’ll have times when I’ll get a bunch of looks and other times when I won’t, but I’ve just got to take advantage of those.”
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Happ once again lived up to his preseason All-American billing as he had 12 rebounds and six assists to go along with his 15 points.
Happ also became UW’s all-time leading rebounder with 911 and counting for his career, passing Claude Gregory who had held the record since 1981.
Speaking postgame, head coach Greg Gard had nothing but praise for his record-breaking forward.
“It’s a heck of an accomplishment,” Gard said. “It’s another testament to the type of player he has become.”
In the second half, Wisconsin expanded their range and attempted more shots from beyond the arc. D’Mitrik Trice knocked down three of his six attempts from downtown, and Brevin Pritzl was a perfect 2-2 from three-point range.
Pritzl finished with a team-high 17 points, Trice had 12 and Forward Charles Thomas IV was also in double figures with 10 points.
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Ten different players recorded points for the Badgers including 41 points off the bench. A stark contrast to their previous outing against Xavier where Brad Davidson, Happ and Trice combined for 71 of the Badgers 77 points.
As a member of an offense that had trouble putting the ball in the basket all night, Ian DuBose was the main attacking threat for HBU, finishing with 18 points and shooting 3-4 from three-point range.
HBU head coach Ron Cottrell said his team was playing from behind from the get-go.
“They played well, they got our guys on our heels right from the beginning,” Cottrell said.
