La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell in overtime 67-64 to UW-Whitewater Saturday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles fall to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), while the Warhawks, ranked 2nd on this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, improve to 14-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
The game featured 27 lead changes and 12 ties, but both teams struggled from the field in the first half. UWL and UW-Whitewater combined to go 4-of-24 from three-point range, and 14-of-50 overall from the field. The Warhawks led by as many as six points in the period at 12-6 with 9:58 to play, but a jumper from the Eagles'
Lane Von Rueden with :54 left gave UWL a 20-19 lead at the half.
In the second half, UW-Whitewater again built the lead to six at 36-30 on a three pointer from Dalton Menke with 12:02 left in the half. UWL answered with a 7-0 run capped by a
Sam Skoyen three put the Eagles back ahead 37-36 with 10:39 to go.
Taulvish McCray
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Brendon Manning jumper broke a 51-51 tie with 1:32 left. After UW-Whitewater missed shots on consecutive possessions, it was forced to foul with :23 seconds to go.
Taulvish McCray hit both free throws to put UWL ahead 55-51 with :19 seconds remaining. Derek Rongstad hit a three for the Warhawks, to pull within one at 55-54.
Tanner Bruchs was fouled and hit one-of-two free throws to put the Eagles ahead 56-54, with :08 to go. Andre Brown was fouled with :03 on the clock, and hit both free throws to tie the game at 56-56. McCray missed a three-pointer as time expired, and the game headed to overtime.
In the extra period, UWL led 62-60 with 2:16 to play, but UW-Whitewater scored the next six points to pull ahead 66-62 with :17 remaining. Manning's jumper pulled the Eagles to within two points at 66-64 with :09 left. Menke hit one-of-two free throws at the other end to put the Warhawks up 67-64 with :07 to go. Bruchs three was off the mark as time expired and UW-Whitewater held on for the win.
UWL shot 40.0% from the field, including 25.0% (five-of-20) from three-point range, and 61.1% (11-of-18) at the free throw line. Manning led UWL with 15 points on five-of-eight attempts from the field. He also had a team-high nine rebounds. McCray added 14 points with six assists and two steals.
UW-Whitewater shot 37.5% from the field, including 28.6% (eight-of-28) from three-point range, and 73.9% (17-of-23) at the line. Brown led four Warhawks in double-figures with 18 points, also dishing out six assists. Derek Rongstad pitched in 12 points and 12 rebounds, while David Sachs and Menke added 11 points each.
UWL returns to action Saturday, January 24 at UW-Stout at 7 p.m.
