UW-Superior 83, UW-La Crosse 77

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell 83-77 to UW-Superior Tuesday night in the first round of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles finish 17-9 on the season while the Yellowjackets improve to 15-11 and will travel to top-seeded UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Semifinals Feb. 25.

UW-L entered the tournament as the third-seed while UW-Superior was the sixth. Neither team led by more than four points in the first half as there were 16 lead changes. The contest was tied six times in the first half.

The game was tied 51-51 with 13:33 remaining when the Yellowjackets went on a 7-0 run. UW-L went on a 16-6 run to take a 67-64 lead with 6:29 left. Dustin Ritchie hit a three-pointer for UW-Superior to tie the game, but Cory Degner gave UW-L a two-point lead with a layup with 5:16 remaining. The Yellowjackets' Dwight Hill scored four straight points to give UW-Superior a 71-69 lead.

Andrew Haass tied it for UW-L with a pair of free throws with 3:51 remaining before Jake Smith made two free throws of his own for UW-Superior and a 73-71 lead. Degner converted two charity shots with 3:11 left to tie the game for the 14th time, but Ritchie hit a jumper for a 75-73 UW-Superior lead. UW-L's Derek Wilcox tied it at 75-75 with 2:35 remaining on a layup, but Ritchie made two free throws with 2:17 left.

After Degner forced a 77-77 tie with a layup, the 16th tie of the contest, Smith made a pair of free throws with 1:43 remaining. Both teams missed jumpers, but Dan Culy had a steal for UW-Superior with :25 left and Ritchie hit two free throws with :15 remaining. After a UW-L miss, Smith finished the scoring with two more free throws with :07 remaining. UW-Superior was 12-of-12 at the line in the final 4:36.

Haass set career-highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday night. He finished six-of-nine from the field, including one-of-two from three-point range, and seven-of-eight at the line. Trevor Stratton also finished with 20 points for the Eagles and added six rebounds while Degner scored a career-high 17 points off the bench. Wilcox had 11 points and five rebounds.

The Eagles' Tony Mane, averaging a team-leading 22.3 points per game, did not play in Tuesday's game due to an injury suffered in UW-L's 88-76 victory over fifth-ranked UW-Stevens Point Feb. 20.

UW-L shot 45.2% from the field, including 31.6% (six-of-19) from three-point range, and 88.2% (15-of-17) at the line.

Smith led UW-Superior with 35 points, the third-most in WIAC Tournament history. Mane scored 37 points at UW-Stevens Point in 2008 while UW-Superior's Vince Thomas finished with 37 at UW-Eau Claire in 2001. Smith was 13-of-21 from the field and nine-of-10 at the free throw line Tuesday. He also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Hill finished with 15 points while Ritchie finished with 14.

UW-Superior shot 52.9% from the field, including 63.6% (seven-of-11) from three-point range, and 95.7% (22-of-23) at the line.