It took host Wisconsin about eight minutes to get going, but once they did, the Badgers blitzed Appalachian State with a 28-3 burst en route to an 87-56 victory on Sunday in Madison, Wis.
Steven Crowl and John Tonje finished with 17 points apiece and Max Klesmit added 15 points and five steals for Wisconsin (3-0). Tonje, a transfer from Missouri, also supplied seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
CJ Huntley tallied 13 points and six rebounds, and Jackson Threadgill followed with 11 points for Appalachian State (1-2). Threadgill, however, was also responsible for five of the Mountaineers’ 18 turnovers.
Tonje scored seven points during the Badgers’ first-half burst, as they turned a nine-point deficit into a 16-point halftime lead.
Crowl, who entered averaging just 6.5 points per game this season, netted four points during that run and kept Wisconsin going to start the second half. He scored seven of the Badgers’ first nine points coming out of the break as they extended their lead to 45-26, and the rout was on.
The bulge reached 30 points as John Blackwell’s layup capped a nine-point run and pushed Wisconsin ahead 70-40. The Badgers hit 47.1 percent of their shots from the floor for the game, to 37.5 percent for Appalachian State, which also was outscored 48-24 in the paint.
The Mountaineers came out strong, hitting seven of their first nine shots as they built a 17-8 lead. Threadgill and Myles Tate each scored five points in that stretch.
Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter, who finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals, began the comeback, scoring five points in 35 seconds. A few minutes later, Crowl’s back-to-back baskets put the Badgers ahead 19-17, and a layup by Kamari McGee made the score 32-17 with 2:44 left in the half.
Huntley hit a 3-pointer to interrupt the Badgers’ run, but Klesmit hit a trey and Winter split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 36-20 at the half.
–Field Level Media
