Winona, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team concluded its 2023-24 non-conference schedule with a 74-59 victory at Saint Mary's University (Minn.) Wednesday night in Saint Mary's (Minn.) Fieldhouse. The Eagles improve to 6-5 on the season while the Cardinals drop to 2-9.
UWL never trailed Wednesday, scoring the game's first eight points.
Dustin Derousseau scored five points and
Will Fuhrmann three in the opening minutes of the game. The Eagles took a 14-4 lead on a
Jake Gross' three-pointer, but the Cardinals scored the next six points to cut the margin to 14-10 with 14:44 left on a Owen Ziegler three-pointer. UWL used a 7-0 run to take a 21-10 advantage with 12:29 remaining after
Tarek Abdel Kireem's three-point field goal.
Jemari Moore's layup for Saint Mary's (Minn.) cut it to 21-12, but UWL extended the lead to 25-12 on a three-point play from Gross with 9:41 left. The Cardinals' Jabari Sawyer hit a jumper with 4:09 remaining to cut the lead to 29-21 when the Eagles finished the half on a 11-5 run to lead 40-26.
Jake Grosse finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Fuhrmann's jumper, Derousseau's layup and Gross' jumper to start the second half gave UWL a 46-26 lead. Ziegler's three-pointer later cut the lead to 52-35 with 15:50 remaining, but Fuhrmann's five points and Gross' two gave UWL a 59-35 lead with 14:03 left.
UWL led by as many as 27 points in the second half with Saint Mary's (Minn.) getting closer than the final margin of 15.
UWL shot 43.8% from the field, including 36.4% (eight-of-22) from three-point range, and 76.9% (10-of-13) at the free throw line. Fuhrmann led the Eagles with 23 points, finishing nine-of-14 from the field, including five-of-five from three-point range. He also had a team-high four steals while tying for the team lead with Gross with six rebounds. Gross totaled 12 points in the game while Derousseau finished with nine points and three assists. Twelve different players scored for UWL.
Saint Mary's (Minn.) shot 38.6% from the field, including 33.3% (six-of-18) from three-point range, and 56.3% (nine-of-16) at the line. Ziegler led the Cardinals with 13 points and six rebounds. Cameron Mallory finished with nine points and four rebounds.
UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 3 opening Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play at UW-River Falls at 7 p.m.
