Brevin Pritzl
The Wisconsin men’s basketball team blew an 11-point lead in the second half but managed to hold off Western Kentucky 81-80 at the Kohl Center.
Freshman guard Brad Davison drew a foul on a UW inbound play with two seconds left, then hit one of two free throws to give the Badgers the victory.
The Badgers had fallen short in close games on a number of occasions this season. They finally got over the top on Wednesday night.
Western Kentucky (6-4) had already handed Purdue a 77-73 loss in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
In the final seconds of regulation, Brevin Pritzl, a 87% free throw shooter entering the game, made one of two to give the Badgers an 80-78 lead.
Darius Thompson then drove to the basket and hit a short floater with two seconds left to tie it at 80. Just when it looked like the game was headed for overtime, the Badgers called timeout and assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft came up with the play that allowed Davison to draw the late foul and go on to win the game.
Ethan Happ and Brevin Pritzl scored 17 points each to lead the Badgers. Davison added 16 points and Aleem Ford added 14.
The Badgers shot 72.7% from the field in the second half and 71.4% from three-point range. They shot 54.9% from the field for the game and 60% from three point range.
The Badgers now get 10-days off before returning to host Green Bay on Dec. 23 at the Kohl Center.