UW-La Crosse 88, UW-Stevens Point 76

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team earned a 88-76 victory over fifth-ranked UW-Stevens Point Saturday night in Mitchell Hall. With the victory, UW-L clinches the third seed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament and will host sixth-seeded UW-Superior Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. The Eagles snapped an 18-game losing streak to the Pointers with Saturday's win.

UW-L improves to 17-8 overall and 9-7 in the WIAC while UW-Stevens Point falls to 21-4 overall and 12-4 in the conference. The Pointers, ranked fifth on D3hoops.com, will be the second seed for the WIAC Tournament and host a semifinal contest Thursday, Feb. 25.

The Eagles led 16-13 with 12:45 left in the first half when they went on a 19-9 run to lead 35-22 with 6:39 remaining. UW-L later led 41-27 with 3:24 left before UW-Stevens Point cut its halftime deficit to 43-33.

UW-L opened the second half on a 9-2 run to lead 52-35 with 17:25 remaining. UW-Stevens Point cut the lead to 61-52 with 9:46 left, but the Eagles used a 7-1 run to lead 68-53 with 6:25 left. The Pointers could get no closer than eight points the rest of the game.

UW-L scored its last 13 points of the contest at the free throw line, going 13-of-14 in the final 2:00.

Tony Mane and Trevor Stratton combined for 58 points for UW-L. Mane finished with 32 points, including 21 in the first half. He was 13-of-19 from the field overall, including two-of-seven from three-point range, and four-of-four at the free throw line. Stratton scored 15 points in the second half and finished the contest eight-of-12 from the field, including four-of-six from three-point range, and six-of-eight at the line.

Andrew Haass added 13 points and six rebounds while Cory Degner scored 10 points off the bench. Haass also had a game-high four steals.

UW-L shot 59.2% from the field, including 66.7% (18-of-27) in the first half. The Eagles shot 47.4% (nine-of-19) from three-point range and 70.0% (21-of-30) at the line. UW-L finished with five turnovers.

Matt Moses led UW-Stevens Point with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Dan Tillema finished with 11 points and Louis Hurd added 10. Ross Forman also had seven rebounds.

The Pointers shot 45.6% from the field, including 33.3% (six-of-18) from three-point range, and 78.3% (18-of-23) at the free throw line.

UW-L returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 23 hosting UW-Superior in the WIAC Tournament Quarterfinals at 8:05 p.m.