Jim Lund

Box Score

Ben Meinholz had a team-high 16 points Friday night.

UW-La Crosse UWL 17-10

St. Thomas UST-MEN 23-4

UW-La Crosse UWL

17-10

Final

Mar. 01, 2019

St. Thomas UST-MEN

23-4

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
UW-La Crosse UWL	33	33	66
St. Thomas UST-MEN	45	35	80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/1/2019 9:16:00 PM

UWL Falls to St. Thomas in First Round of NCAA III Championships

Lincoln, Neb. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell behind early and was never able to recover, losing 80-66 to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Friday night in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championship at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

UWL, making its second appearance (2006, 2019) in the NCAA III Championships, ends the season at 17-10 while St. Thomas (Minn.) improves to 23-4 and will face host Nebraska Wesleyan in the second round Saturday at 7 p.m. Nebraska Wesleyan earned a 101-75 win over Eureka College (Ill.) in Friday's first round.

After the UWL trailed, 11-10 with 14:50 left in the first half on a Ben Meinholz layup, St. Thomas (Minn.) went on a 14-0 run to lead 25-10 with 9:33 remaining. A Tanner Bruchs three-point play would cut the Eagle deficit to 28-17 with 7:36 left. The Tommies would score seven of the next nine points to take their largest lead of the half at 35-19 with 4:39 remaining. Luke Norcia's layup with :33 left finished the scoring for the half as UWL trailed 45-33.

UWL shot 56.5% (13-of-23) from the field in the first half while St. Thomas (Minn.) shot 56.7% (17-of-30), including 61.5% (eight-of-13) from three-point range.

St. Thomas (Minn.) opened the second half on a 9-3 run as it built a 56-36 lead with 16:52 left. Brendon Manning would score the next five points for the Eagles to cut the deficit to 56-41, but the Tommies would quickly score eight straight points to lead 64-41. Leading 64-48, St. Thomas (Minn.) went on a 10-2 run to lead 74-50 with 6:39 left. UWL closed the game on a 16-6 run.

UWL shot 47.9% from the field, including 16.7% (two-of-12) from three-point range, and 78.3% (18-of-23) at the free throw line. The Eagles finished with four players in double figures as Meinholz had 16 to lead the way. Manning, Bruchs, and Terek Nesheim all added 11 points. Manning finished with a team-high nine rebounds to help give the Eagles a 31-28 advantage in rebounding.

St. Thomas (Minn.) shot 30-of-56 (53.6%) from the field, including 44.4% (12-fo-27) from three-point range, and 47.1% (seven-of-16) at the line. The Tommies got a game-high 24 points from Ryan Lindberg while Connor Bair chipped in 16 points and Michael Hannon added 11.