Badgers beat St. Mary’s, claim Maui Invitational title

November 24, 2021
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

Wisconsin overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to win the Maui Invitational with a 61-55 victory over St. Mary’s in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The Badgers fell down double digits coming out of the break but got five straight points from freshman guard Lorne Bowman, including the team’s first 3-pointer since the first half against Houston on Tuesday. The stretch motivated the young club and they eventually fought all the way back to take the lead with 5:12 left thanks to eight straight points from sophomore Jonathan Davis.

It was a lead the Badgers would not give back as they got clutch shots on offense and buckled down on defense, including a sequence with junior Tyler Wahl hitting a turnaround jumper on one end and then blocking a shot on the other. Wisconsin salted the game away at the free throw line, hitting 7 of 8 in the final 2:07 of the game.

Davis finished with a team-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He averaged 23.7 points in the three-game event and was named the Maui Invitational Most Outstanding Player.

Wahl chipped in a career-high 18 points, with five rebounds and four blocks. Steven Crowl had four points, seven rebounds and the Badgers were 16 points better than St. Mary’s with him on the floor.

The Gaels were paced by Alex Ducas’ 13 points, while Logan Johnson had 12 points and five rebounds. Wisconsin held St. Mary’s to just 32% shooting the second half, including a 1-for-6 effort from beyond the arc.

The Badgers became the first Big Ten team to win the Maui Invitational since Illinois in 2012 and just the third team from the conference to win it since 1992. The title is also the first in-season tournament Wisconsin has won since taking home the Battle4Atlantis crown during the 2014-15 season.

Coach Greg Gard’s club (5-1) will now head back to the practice floor to prepare for its Big Ten/ACC Challenge game next Wednesday at Georgia Tech.