MADISON, Wis. – John Tonje scored 23 points in his debut and John Blackwell added 16 points, as the Wisconsin men's basketball team took control in the second half and won its season opener with an 85-61 victory over Holy Cross on Monday night at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers (1-0) rallied behind 11 3-pointers and a dominant performance on the boards to keep the Crusaders out of the game. UW outrebounded Holy Cross, 38-21, while shooting an efficient 49.2 percent from the field.

Holy Cross raced out to a 21-5 lead on 8-for-9 shooting. The Badgers responded by outscoring the Crusaders 20-4 over and stretch of 8 1/2 minutes and tied the game at 25 when Tonje made a 3-pointer with 5:17 left in the first half.

Tonje, a graduate transfer from Missouri, finished with a game high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting in his Wisconsin debut. It marked the most points by a Badger in his debut since at least 2000.

The two teams went back-and-forth until halftime and Holy Cross led 36-35 at the break.

"Second half, I thought we got better defensively and hopefully as you go through a season you grow from half-to-half," head coach Greg Gard said. "This group understands that I think we can score, but how we continue to grow defensively will be extremely important.

"I liked how we responded and battled back and grew defensively as the game went on. I think we wore them down significantly. It's a long way to go, but i like the response when things weren't going well early."

Wisconsin kept up the pace to begin the second half, ripping off a 20-4 run out of the halftime break. Max Klesmit, John Blackwell and Tonje were instrumental during the stretch, each adding five points to give UW a 55-40 lead before the 12-minute media timeout. 

The sides traded buckets until the Badgers padded their advantage as the lead ballooned to 30 before the buzzer.

Nolan Winter scored nine points in the game's final four minutes, finishing with 15 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting.

Junior Isaac Gard capped off the night by drilling a 3-pointer to record the first points of his collegiate career.

Blackwell had a strong season opener, finishing with 16 points and adding four rebounds, one assist and a steal.

Up next, the Badgers continue a five-game homestand to open the season with a game against Montana State on Thursday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Plus.