UW 96, Houston Baptist 59: Happ sets rebounding mark; Badgers cruise to victory

MADISON - That’s what you call a tuneup.

The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team showed it is ready for the upcoming Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament on Saturday night.

Brevin Pritzl scored 17 points and Ethan Happ had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Badgers overpowered Houston Baptist, 96-59, at the Kohl Center.

The Huskies (1-2) had no answer for Happ, who registered his third straight double-double to open the season for the Badgers (3-0).

His game-high 12 rebounds included career rebound No. 905, which came in the first half and pushed him past Claude Gregory for most in team history. Gregory played for the Badgers from 1978-’81. By the time the game was done, Happ had reached 911.

“He’s a unique type player,” Houston Baptist coach Ron Cottrell said of Happ. “He doesn’t shoot from the perimeter at all and yet he just tears you up inside, and he’s so fundamentally sound.”

BOX SCORE: UW 96, Houston Baptist 59

With some heavyweights on the schedule over the Thanksgiving holiday in the tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas, the Badgers flexed their muscles against the Huskies.

They put their foot on the gas and never let up.

Happ scored eight points in the first six minutes as the Badgers opened up a 19-8 lead. The Badgers pushed it to 21 midway through the first half and crossed the 30-point mark early in the second half.

Happ continues to do a little bit of everything for the Badgers.

“It’s definitely something that my dad instilled in me when I was little, just to work on your ball handling, your passing, all facets of your game and don’t just limit yourself to one area even though I was a little taller than a lot of kids,” said Happ.

After tallying 17 assists in Wisconsin’s first two games, he had six Saturday and could’ve had more. At one point, he led a fast break and flipped a behind-the-back pass to D’Mitrik Trice in the corner. But the three-point attempt rimmed out.

The Badgers shot 67% in the first half.

Ian DuBose led the Huskies with 18 points.

Teams from the Southland Conference are now 0-7 against Wisconsin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report