WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsBrust shines in Badger men's basketball scrimmage

MADISON (WKOW) -- As a member of the scout team last season, Ben Brust showed his teammates and coaches that he could score. During Sunday's Red/White Scrimmage, the sophomore guard showed the Badger faithful that same scorer's mentality, finishing with a game-high 22 points while leading Red to a 72-56 win at the Kohl Center.

Brust was one of three Red players in double figures, joining juniors Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren, who chipped 18 points each. Seniors Jordan Taylor (16 points) and Ryan Evans (14 points) led the White squad in front of a crowd of 3,727.

"Those are the things Ben can do," head coach Bo Ryan said after the scrimmage. "He can have a scoring frenzy at times. He did it last year at practice every once in a while. He's quick with the ball and includes his teammates.

"He's quick, we always knew that. And he's even quicker now. He's worked hard."

"It's fun to come out here and compete against everyone and play hard and take what was given to me, I guess," said Brust, who added five rebounds and four assists on the day. "Personally, it feels like it's been a long time since I've played in front of a crowd, so it was nice to be on the floor and have some fun."

Bruesewitz led all scorers in the first half with an ultra-efficient 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting.

For the game, the 6-foot-6 forward scored 16 of his 18 points in the lane, helping Red post a 36-24 advantage on points in the paint. Brust showed he could score inside and out Sunday, getting to the rim for eight of his 22 points and knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.

"Today I kind of used my driving to open up the outside shooting," Brust said. "Any time you compete, you want to play hard and do the best you can. I'm out here every day because I want to be on the floor with the team and helping to win games."

"We all knew Ben could score coming in, and I'm looking forward to playing with him," Taylor said. "He did a lot of that when he was on the scout team. It's no surprise to us. Ben played great and he should use this as a confidence boost and take that forward."

Red, which shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field, also got six points and two rebounds from senior Rob Wilson. White converted 47.9 percent from the floor, including 38.5 (5-for-13) percent from 3-point range. Taylor finished 7-for-18 from the floor, adding four assists.

Wisconsin will play its one and only exhibition game this Saturday, Nov. 5, against UW-Stevens Point at the Kohl Center. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (CT).