Offense, defense get the job done

MADISON – Wisconsin’s shooting numbers, particularly in the opening half, jumped off the page.

Yet UW coach Greg Gard had to be as pleased, if not more, with what he witnessed on the defensive end.

The defensive execution was off early, but the on-ball work, rotations and communication improved as the half progressed.

That work, coupled with good ball movement and hot shooting, allowed UW to build a 22-point halftime lead en route to an 85-63 victory over Coppin State on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers (1-0) finished the first half 9 of 17 from three-point range, 14 of 28 overall and 12 of 12 from the freethrow line. They had 11 assists on 14 baskets and only three turnovers.

Perhaps the numbers that will be remembered most by fans, however, will be: 10, 12 and 11.

Those belonged to senior Ethan Happ, who finished with 10 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes for the second triple-double in program history.

Happ hit the trifecta with 6 minutes 33 seconds left in the game by hitting two free throws. He was 4 of 4 from the line overall.

Happ joins Josh Gasser, who accomplished the feat as a freshman against Northwestern in 2011.

Another set of noteworthy numbers: UW hit 23 of 26 free-throw attempts. That was a weakness last season when UW shot just 69.9% from the line.

D’Mitrik Trice, limited to only 10 games last season because of a broken foot, scored 17 of his college-high 21 points in the opening half.

Trice hit 5 of 6 three-pointers in the half and finished 5 of 9 from threepoint range and 7 of 13 overall. He added four rebounds, an assist and no turnovers.

Brevin Pritzl, who found his threepoint shot late last season, hit his first 4 threes Tuesday. He contributed 11 points in eight first-half minutes and finished 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Pritzl contributed 16 points in 21 minutes.

Four other UW players scored at least seven points for UW.

Brad Davison contributed nine points and five rebounds, Kobe King added eight points and four rebounds, Nate Reuvers tallied eight points and four rebounds and Khalil Iverson had seven points and four rebounds.

Lamar Morgan scored 15 points for the Eagles (0-1), who are picked to finish ninth in the 12-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

UW’s defense was shaky early in the exhibition game against UW-Oshkosh last week and the same pattern unfolded early Tuesday.

Coppin State hit 2 of 2 three-pointers and 4 of 5 shots overall to build an 11-6 lead just 2 minutes 52 seconds into the game.

UW took control with a methodical 22-2 run over a span of about nine minutes to build a 28-13 lead.

Trice hit 3 three-pointers and UW limited Coppin State to 1-of-9 shooting during the run.

UW, which led by 28 points in the opening half, appeared asleep on both ends of the court early in the second half.

Coppin State took advantage to pull within 15 points, but UW responded with a 10-0 run to build the lead back to 64-39.

Pritzl hit a three-pointer, Trice hit a jumper, Happ scored in the lane and Davison buried a three-pointer to highlight the run.

UW’s shooting from three-point range was impressive, but the overall work on the defensive end was more critical and will be all season.