By james art 
The Wisconsin Badgers opened their season with an 85-61 win over Holy Cross at the Kohl Center on Nov. 4.
In his Badger debut, transfer guard John Tonje led the scoring with 23 points and five rebounds. Sophomore center Nolan Winter shot a perfect 6-6 from the field for 15 points and recorded a game-best eight rebounds, and sophomore guard John Blackwell also registered 16 points and four boards.
Wisconsin used the exact same starting lineup against Holy Cross as it did against UW-River Falls:
G: John Blackwell
G: Max Klesmith
G: John Tonje (transfer)
Well: Nolan Winter
C: Stephen Crowle
While the final score suggested wire-to-wire dominance, UW’s first-half output said otherwise. After veteran center Stephen Crowl recorded his first 3FG of the season, Holy Cross wing Gabe Warren scored 11 points to put the Crusaders ahead 13-3 inside the first four minutes.
He and forward Caleb Kenney would keep the pressure on to push Holy Cross’ advantage to 23-7 at the 11:54 mark. Tonje and Blackwell would help UW regain control, however, as they combined for 20 first-half points at the break.
After sparing Holy Cross for the first stanza of the second half, the Badgers went on the offensive. Tonje and Blackwell picked up where they left off; the duo scored 14 of UW’s first 22 scores of the second half to make it 59-46 Wisconsin with just under 10 minutes to spare.
From then on, Winter handled almost all of the scoring duties for the Badgers. The 7-footer scored 13 points in the final six minutes and showed off his range with two 3FGs.
As a team, Wisconsin shot 49.2% from the field, 35.5% from the outside and a perfect 16-16 from the defensive stripe. Wisconsin outshot Holy Cross 38-21 and scored 18 more points in the paint.
With Crowl and Winter short, UW presents a challenge for any team without size. Against Holy Cross, a team without a 7-footer on its roster for the 2024-25 season, there’s no denying the Badgers entered the game with a clear advantage,
After all, the story was the Tonje play. A capable shooter and a veteran presence in the UW locker room, it looks like head coach Greg Gard will be counting on the former Missouri and Colorado State player to pick up some of the slack after AJ Storr transferred to Kansas.
Guard Kamari McGee also looked sharp. In 27 minutes off the bench, the senior recorded 7 points and four assists to lead Wisconsin’s secondary.
Wisconsin now moves to 9-0 on the season under Gard. The Badgers will return to action on Thursday, Nov. 9 against Montana State at the Kohl Center.