Storm Lake, Iowa. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team improved to 6-1 on the season with a 84-80 win over Buena Vista University (Iowa) Saturday night at Siebens Fieldhouse. The Beavers fall to 5-2 on the year.
The matchup was the first since a 71-61 Buena Vista (Iowa) victory in Storm Lake during the 2004-05 season. UWL won the first two meetings in the 1984-85 and 1991-92 campaigns, and now lead the all-time series, 3-1.
UWL trailed early in the contest, as Buena Vista (Iowa) opened the game on an 12-0 run. The Eagles finally got on the board with a
Taulvish McCray jumper with 16:01 remaining, and continued on a 9-0 run to cut it to 12-9 on a
Milton Cummings three pointer with 11:38 left.
A 7-0 run gave UWL its first lead at 16-14 after a
Tanner Bruchs layup at 8:22 left in the first half, and after another 7-0 run, the Eagles had its biggest lead at 33-25 on a
Sam Skoyen three with two minutes remaining. An 8-2 run to close the half by Buena Vista (Iowa) cut the margin to 35-33 at the half.
UWL led the entire second half, and grew the margin to as many as 12 points on three occasions. The Eagles led 78-66 after a pair of
Brendon Manning free throws with 4:40 to play, but Buena Vista (Iowa) used a 14-4 run to cut the lead to 82-80 with :38 seconds to play. After a missed jumper from the Beavers with :05 remaining,
Ben Meinholz was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to secure the 84-80 win.
UWL shot 46.2% from the field, including 43.5% (10-of-23) from three-point range, and 73.7% (14-of-19) at the free throw line. Bruchs and Meinholz led the Eagles with 14 points each, while Cummings and Manning chipped in 13. Manning added a team-high nine rebounds, while McCray and Kortes led UWL with three assists each.
Buena Vista (Iowa) shot 49.1% from the field, including 53.8% (seven-of-13) from three-point range, and 76.0% (19-of-25) at the line. Thomas Wisecup led all scorers with 24 points, while David Jeffries added 17, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals for the Beavers.
UWL returns to action Sunday, December 10 at Wartburg College (Iowa) at 5 p.m.
