Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team earned a 68-65 win at UW-Whitewater Wednesday night in Kachel Gymnasium in Williams Center on
Dustin Derousseau's three-pointer with :01 remaining.
The Eagles, ranked 23rd on this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, improve to 15-5 overall and 5-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the
JJ Paider had 20 points, seven rebounds
and three assists.
Warhawks, receiving votes on the poll, drop to 14-6 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
It is UWL's eighth win in the last 11 meetings with UW-Whitewater. The teams split the regular season games with the Warhawks earning a 63-60 victory in La Crosse on January 14.
The contest was tied, 9-9, on Wednesday when UWL went on a 10-2 run to take a 19-11 lead on a Derousseau layup. UW-Whitewater took a 24-20 lead with a 13-1 run after six straight points from Collin Madson.
Layups from Derousseau and
JJ Paider tied the game at 24-24 with 8:10 remaining in the first half. The game was tied three more times before Paider's layup gave UWL a 36-34 lead with 1:37 left.
Sam Grieger's free throw with :41 remaining gave UWL a 37-34 halftime advantage.
The game was tied, 40-40, when the Warhawks' scored seven straight points to take a 47-40 lead with 14:17 left. Isaac Verges and Richie Warren each had layups in the run while Luke Bara hit a three-pointer. The Eagles trailed, 49-42, when an 8-0 run gave them a 50-49 lead with 10:55 remaining.
UWL and UW-Whitewater were tied, 57-57, with 7:17 left but one free throw from Derousseau and two by Grieger gave UWL a 60-57 advantage. The Eagles took a 64-59 lead with 4:43 remaining on a Paider tip-in and later led, 65-61, with 4:00 left after a Grieger free throw.
Madson's free throw with 3:08 left and three-point field goal with 2:29 remaining tied the game at 65-65. The game remained tied until Derousseau's eventual game-winning three-pointer with :01 left. Bara's three-point attempt missed at the buzzer.
JJ Paider finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
UWL shot 40.8% from the field, including 31.3% (five-of-16) from three-point range, and 67.6% (23-of-34) at the free throw line.
Grieger led the Eagles with 20 points while Derousseau finished with 18 points and Paider totaled 15. Grieger and Paider tied for the team lead with seven rebounds each while Grieger and Derousseau each had a team-high three assists. Derousseau finished with three steals.
UW-Whitewater shot 38.9% from the field, including 27.3% (six-of-22) from three-point range, and 77.3% (17-of-22) at the line.
Madson led the Warhawks with 19 points with Verges totaling 18. Madson had a team-high nine rebounds while Verges finished with team-leading four assists and two steals.
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UWL returns to action Saturday, February 7 hosting UW-Platteville at 5 p.m. in Mitchell Hall.
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