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Wisconsin survives upset bid from feisty Texas-Rio Grand Valley

The Vaqueros scored 52 points in the first half and pushed the 19th-ranked Badgers to the limit.
Joe Nelson|
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Texas-Rio Grand Valley
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Texas-Rio Grand Valley | Credit: Nolan Kromke, University of Wisconsin

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After a dominant win over No. 9 Arizona last Friday — that vaulted the Badgers to No. 19 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll — Wisconsin narrowly avoided a home loss to Texas-Rio Grand Valley on Monday night.

The Badgers won by a final score of 87-84, but it took a miss from near half court at the end of regulation by the Division I foe from the Southland Conference to win, not to mention requiring Wisconsin to score on eight of its last 10 possessions to avoid the upset.

Texas-Rio had the lead, 72-71, until John Tonje buried a 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the second half. From there, the Badgers scratched and clawed their way to victory by holding off the upset-minded Vaqueros.

John Blackwell led the Badgers with 30 points while Tonje, who scored 41 against Arizona, finished with 19.

Tonje was 21-of-22 at the free-throw line against Arizona and he was a perfect 10-of-10 against Texas-Rio. Overall, the Badgers dominated at the charity stripe, going 27-of-32 compared to just 9-of-11 for the Vaqueros.

"We made some mistakes and allowed the force rotations and scrambles. Then, they start banging some 3s, they get some confidence and it grows," said Badgers head coach Greg Gard.

"That second half we were better. The smaller lineup helped with that, trying to minimize some of that. We were able to find a way when we were not at our best and a unique team to have to run around with and guard. Then, the plays there at the end, Kamari McGee did an awesome job of switching on the pistol action screen and standing the offensive player up. Then,Blackwell went to get the rebound, finishing it out.

"Good teams find a way when things aren't always clicking ... We'll learn from it and keep getting better. Move on to the next one."

The Badgers are 5-0 to start the season with the next game coming at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 22 against Central Florida. The game will be televised at 4 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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